The Robert Winston Menzel Collection was created by Robert Winston Menzel as a major resource tool for the Florida State University's Marine Lab in Turkey Point, FL.

Robert Winston Menzel was born in James City County, Virginia on January 29, 1920. Graduating from The College of William and Mary in 1940 with a Bachelor's of Science in Botany, he received his Masters in Aquatic Biology from The University of Virginia in 1943 and his PhD in Biology from Texas A and M University in 1954. Menzel's career began as a research assistant at the Virginia Fisheries Lab. He also spent much of his early career as an educator at Texas A and M University, where he held such titles as Assistant Biologist, Biologist for the Texas A and M Research Foundation, and Assistant Professor. In 1954, Menzel became assistant professor for the department of Marine Biology at Florida State University (FSU). Menzel invested a great deal of his work in researching and documenting marine life as a biology instructor at the FSU Gulf Coast Research Lab at Turkey Point, and was one of the leading educators instrumental in the establishment of the FSU Oceanography Department. Menzel served as professor in this department from 1970-1985. He died in 1989.

From the guide to the Robert Menzel Collection, 1910-1985, 1970-1975, (Repository Unknown)