Athelstan Spilhaus, 86, Dies; Inventor With Eye on Future
Published: April 01, 1998  Athelstan F. Spilhaus, a geophysicist
and meteorologist who invented a device that measures
temperatures at the depths of the sea and who became the first
United States representative on the executive board of Unesco,
died on Monday at his home in Middleburg, Va. He was 86.
Dreamer, futurist, creator or fixer of untold numbers of other
devices, including some 3,000 varieties of children's toys, Dr.
Spilhaus listed his occupation in his later years as ''retired
genius,'' and throughout his life he had been involved in
complex scientific, mechanical, educational, architectural and
military projects.  Some were top secret, and one caused a half-
century mystery.  Because of his work with undersea wave and
temperature measurements, he was asked to take part in similar
geophysical studies and design balloons that would float up and
monitor atmospheric waves. The balloons become part of an Air
Force system used to spy on Soviet nu