One Man, Two Worlds

John Steinbeck used his close friend and collaborator Edward Ricketts as a model for the fictional character Doc in Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, where Doc appears as a gentle, insightful, and observant philosopher-scientist living and working on the street later known worldwide as Cannery Row. Ricketts himself was a serious and dedicated scientist who researched West Coast tide pools from Canada to Mexico, studied the interrelationships of marine species, and worked to develop an ecological philosophy of life. His book Between Pacific Tides, first published in 1939, remained in use among students of marine biology. On the evening of May 8, 1948, near Cannery Row at the intersection of Drake Avenue and Wave Street, Ricketts was struck by a train while driving across the railroad tracks and died at nearly 51, prompting Steinbeck to mourn him as the greatest man he had known and the best teacher.

Monterey, California · United States