Kenneth S. Norris

[2][3] His conservation work included helping establish the University of California Natural Reserve System and work towards passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

[2] Norris was a professor at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz.

[4] Norris, Milton Shedd, David Demott and George Millay co-founded SeaWorld.

The four graduates of UCLA originally set out to build an underwater restaurant and marine life show.

[5] When the underwater restaurant concept was deemed unfeasible, they scrapped those plans and decided to build a park instead, and SeaWorld San Diego was opened on March 21, 1964.