It took several years for the Scripps Institute of Oceanography to settle on a name; it was born through the efforts of a researcher named William E. Ritter. Ritter's studies were underwritten by E.W. Scripps for about 25 years before the Institute was created. Although Scripps was not noted for his love of oceanography, he was well-known for his philanthropy, which saved the Institute, now a well-respected marine studies center. The Institute opened in 1903 and, while under the direction of the late Roger Revelle, became the site of some of the world's premiere work on continental drift.