Clive Cussler, American author and underwater explorer, was born July 15, 1931, in Aurora, Ill. His father was an accountant of German descent and his mother from England. He grew up in Alhambra, Calif.

Cussler was an Eagle Scout and attended two years at Pasadena City College before enlisting in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. After his service time was completed, he went to work for two advertising agencies.

In 1955, Cussler married Barbara Knight and they had three children, Teri, Dirk and Dayna. Cussler’s wife took a night job with the police department in California where they lived; so, after he fed their children dinner and put them to bed, he would write. This is when his series Dirk Pitt series, about a marine engineer and government agent, was born.

His first non-fiction book, “The Sea Hunters,” was published in 1966. Cussler had 17 titles in a row one after the other listed on The New York Times fiction best-seller list. At least two of his books were made into movies. He wrote 85 books, selling at least one million copies, and these included five best-selling series.

Besides his success as an author, Cussler was a successful underwater explorer discovering more than 60 shipwreck sites and writing non-fiction books about his findings. He also started NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency).

Cussler had homes in Arvada, Colo.; Paradise Valley, Ariz. and Calif. He was a passionate collector of some 100 classic automobiles which are exhibited to the public at the Cussler Museum in Arvada.

Cussler passed away February 24, 2020, at his home in Arizona at the age of 88. His wife of almost 50 years preceded him in death in 2003.

We have 80 of Cussler’s books in our local Library.