The history of the Oceanography and Limnology Program can be traced to 1962 when Irvin Eugene Wallen was appointed Assistant Director for Oceanography in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Duties of the Assistant Director for Oceanography included aiding NMNH scientists in marine research; maintaining liaison with scientists and ocean-going vessels for collecting biological materials; representing the Smithsonian Institution on committees and councils concerned with oceanography; and developing and operating a sorting center for marine biological and geological materials. The Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center (SOSC) was established in 1962, under the administrative control of the Assistant Director for Oceanography. In 1966, the position of Assistant Director for Oceanography was abolished, and its duties were assumed by the newly created Office of Oceanography and Limnology. The Office, with Wallen as Head, reported to the Assistant Secretary for Science and was administratively responsible for the SOSC and the Mediterranean Marine Sorting Center (MMSC), which was established in September 1966. As a result of a reorganization in the Smithsonian's environmental programs, the Office of Environmental Sciences (OES) was established in October 1969. At that time, the Office of Oceanography and Limnology became the Oceanography and Limnology Program (OLP) of OES. In October 1973, OES was merged with the Office of International Activities to create the Office of International and Environmental Programs (OIEP). OLP became an administrative unit of the newly created OIEP. OLP was abolished in June 1974. At that time, Smithsonian environmental programs were merged to form the International Environmental Sciences Program (IESP) of OIEP. IESP and OIEP were terminated in 1975.
Staff of OLP and its predecessors, the Assistant Director for Oceanography, NMNH and the Office of Oceanography and Limnology included Wallen, Assistant Director for Oceanography, NMNH, 1962-1966, Head, Office of Oceanography and Limnology, 1966-1969; William Aron, Deputy Head, 1967-1969, Director, 1969-1971; Robert P. Higgins, Oceanographer, 1968-1969, Director, 1971-1974 (from 1970 to 1971, Higgins served as Director of MMSC); Dail W. Brown, Oceanographer, 1970-1972; David K. Young, Deputy Director, 1972-1974; and Catherine J. Kerby, Estuarine Biologist, 1973, Deputy Director, 1974.