Gilbert L. Voss

Gilbert L. Voss (1918 – 23 January 1989) was an American conservationist and oceanographer. He was one of the main persons behind the establishment of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Florida and he spoke out successfully against several proposed real estate developments that might have threatened the ecology of the Florida Keys.

He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Miami and a doctorate from George Washington University. He started at the University of Miami in 1951 and was at the university's Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science when he retired in 1988. From 1962 to 1973 he was chairman of the biology division. He had been a research fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, editor of the Bulletin of Marine Science and editor of Studies in Tropical Oceanography.

Born in Hypoluxo, Florida in 1918, Voss was the son of early South Florida pioneers Captain Frederick C. Voss and his wife Lillie Pierce Voss, who was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 2012/2013. His father was a boat captain and steam engineer. Voss grew up on the water, sailing and fishing. He and his brothers, Frederick Jr. and Walter, were guides and captains in tuna and bill fishing tournaments throughout Florida and the Caribbean. Voss' wife, Nancy A. Voss (1929–2020), was Research Professor Emeritus and Museum Director at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. His son, Robert Voss, is Curator, Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History.