E. Lee Spence

At age 12 (in 1960) Lee Spence found his first shipwrecks and went on to become one of pioneers of the new field of underwater archaeology. He is widely considered the world's foremost authority on shipwrecks and sunken treasure.

Spence is the author/editor of more than two dozen non-fiction reference books on shipwrecks and has served as an editor for each of the following publications: Diving World, Atlantic Coastal Diver, Treasure, Treasure Diver, Treasure Quest, ShipWrecks, Wreck Diver and written articles for such magazines as Skin Diver and Argosy. Most of his books have literally thousands of reference notes and his work is characterized by the depth and scope of the facts gleaned from contemporary sources. His books and discoveries have been cited in government publications, professional journals, encyclopedias and reference books. Look him up on Wikipedia or find him on Facebook.

His most famous discovery was the wreck of the "Hunley." The "Hunley" was the first submarine in the entire history of the world to actually sink an enemy ship. It had never returned from its otherwise successful mission and its location had been unknown for over 100 years. The sub has been valued at over $20,000,000. Spence donated his discovery rights to the wreck to the State, and the tiny sub has since been raised and its crew given a proper burial. Spence's other shipwreck discoveries are too many to list here but include the Spanish pirate ship "Diamond", and the blockade runners "Georgiana", "Mary Bowers", "Norseman", "Stonewall Jackson", and "Constance." He has salvaged everything from Spanish galleons to a modern ferry boat. It was Spence's research that ultimately led to the discovery of the gold rush steamer "Central America" and the SS "Republic" with its cargo of gold.

Dr. Spence's past work has been funded by such institutions as the Savannah Ships of the Sea Museum, the College of Charleston, the South Carolina Committee for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1991 and 1992, Spence served as Chief of Underwater Archeology for San Andres y Providencia, a 40,000 square-mile Colombian owned archipelago in the western Caribbean. His work on the Great Lakes freighter "Regina" was written up in People Magazine. Because part of his recovery included G.H. Mumm's Champagne, the article was titled: "Ho, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Mumm." He has been in cover stories in such magazines as Life and U.S. News & World Report.

Spence's discovery that Rhett Butler was largely based on the life of George Alfred Trenholm and that much of Margaret Mitchell's novel "Gone With The Wind" was taken straight out the lives of real people made international news. Over the years he has been written up in over a thousand publications around the world and has been interviewed on local and network radio & television in numerous countries. You may have even heard or seen him in documentaries.

Although all of his friends call him Lee, his full name is Edward Lee Spence. Lee was born in Munich, Germany, in 1947. He is married to Lauren McEntire. She is his sixth wife and 27 years his junior. He has one son, Matthew Lee Spence, who was born in 1980.