Photo: U.S. Congress / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Many visitors to Newport’s South Beach know the Hatfield Marine Science Center as a place to see an octopus or touch a sea star. Fewer know much about the man behind the name.
A long public career
Mark O. Hatfield served as Oregon’s governor from 1959 to 1967 and then as a U.S. Senator for three decades, until 1997. In Washington he was known as a Republican who often broke with his party, opposing the Vietnam War and voting his conscience on budget and defense issues.
A friend of research
As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hatfield helped steer federal money toward research and public institutions in Oregon. Oregon State University’s marine station on Yaquina Bay, which opened in 1965, was later named in his honor.
A lasting legacy
Hatfield died in 2011. Today the center bearing his name is home to OSU researchers, federal science agencies and a public visitor center, and it remains one of the reasons Newport is known for ocean science.
Marnie Holcomb is the editor and publisher of Oregon Coast Daily News and covers Lincoln County government and community life.
