Born in Illinois, Link earned his degree in geology. In 1918 he joined the Imperial Oil subsidiary Northwest Company Ltd. Ted Link earned his Masters degree in 1919. As an Imperial Oil geologist, Ted Link discovered oil at Norman wells, Northwest Territories in 1920. When the Norman Wells discovery was drilled, it was the world's most northerly oil reservoir. It remains one of Canada's largest onshore fields. He received his Doctorate in structural geology form the University of Chicago in 1929.
Ted Link became chief geologist at Imperial Oil. His research led Imperial Oil explorers to assess an area Link saw as encouraging. Imperial made its decision to drill in central Alberta, south to Leduc. In this manner, Link played a major role in the Leduc discovery in 1947.
Ted (Doc) Link pioneered the commercial use of aircraft in the Northwest Territories and the use of aerial photography on geological surveying, and used cross-section models in geological work. His accolades include the Barlow Memorial Medal 1950; Selweyn G. Baylock Medal, 1960; the John Campbell Sproule Plaque (first recipient), 1974.
Link was also a charter member of the Alberta Society of Petroleum Geologists, the predecessor of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. He was honored with three awards from the Canadian Institute of Mining and metallurgy, and in 1977 received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. Ted Link died on June 25 1980.
