Dr. Marv Creamer

Born January 24th, 1916 in Vineland, New Jersey, Dr. Marvin Creamer has had a life-long fascination with geography and sailing. Marvin is a graduate of Glassboro State College and was faculty in the Department of Social Studies and later one of the founding members of the Department of Geography. Upon retirement from Glassboro State in 1977, he began serious planning of a circumnavigation of the globe on a specially-commissioned ship, the Globe Star.

Dr. Marvin Creamer, founder and "patron saint" of the Geography Department at Glassboro State College, is a standout even among the talented faculty who have graced our halls over the years. He is known and celebrated all over the world by realizing a dream he first had when he was 17: sailing around the world without any navigation equipment. No compass. No sextant. Not even a watch. All he had to guide him were the stars, wind, and water currents -- and his incredible knowledge of the earth and how it worked.

Always a hands-on guy, he built his home in Glassboro while performing all his college-related duties. Shortly after his retirement, he realized his long-postponed dream with the purchase of his 36-foot Globe Star and signing up a crew. He had already made several trans-Atlantic crossings without instruments and had thoroughly prepared for the rest of his trip. He set out from Cape May, NJ on December 21, 1982 and, with several long layovers to rest and refit the boat, returned triumphantly on May 18, 1984. His epic trip has been written about by many, most recently a major German sailing publication. As far as anyone knows, he is the only person who has ever done this.