Andre Morel (1933–2012) was a prominent pioneer of modern optical oceanography, enabling significant advances in this field. Through his forward thinking and research over more than 40 years, he made key contributions that this field needed to grow and to reach its current status. This article first summarizes his career and then successively covers different aspects of optical oceanography where hemade significant contributions, from fundamental work on optical properties of water and particles to global oceanographic applications using satellite ocean color observations. At the end, we share our views on Andre’s legacy to our research field and scientific community.