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276
Eratosthenes 276 BC
He made a very accurate measurement of the earth's circumference. -
325
Pytheas 325 BC
He was the earliest to state that the high and low tides of the ocean are caused by the moon. -
Mar 6, 1394
Prince Henry the Navigator
He did employ some cartographers to chart the coast of Mauritania after the voyages he sent there, but there was no center of navigation science or observatory, and there wasn't an organized navigational center, either. -
Jan 6, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan
Magellan's expedition became the first one to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean, and the first to cross the Pacific. Also completed the circumnavigation of the Earth. -
John Harrison
Invented a third generation of seagoing chronometer which was reliable but quite large. -
James Cook
Charted New Zealand, East Coast of Australia, southern Indian Ocean, south Pacific, rediscovered Easter Island, and many others along the way. -
Benjamin Franklin
Discovered surface currents and therefore published the first map of the Gulf Stream. Suggested using thermometers to locate warm waters. -
Matthew Maury
Was a US Navy Officer who compiled naval charts and instrumentations that allowed sailors to avoid catastrphic weather conditions, currents and tides. Wrote the Physical Geography of the Sea. -
Challenger Expedition
Trip that began in December 1872 and lasted for years, ending in May of 1876. The purpose of the voyage was to increase knowledge of the distribution of life in the ocean and of chemical and physical properties of the ocean. It took 23 years to write the reports of the expedition. -
Bathysphere
A Bathysphere is a spherical deep-sea submersible which is unpowered and is lowered into the ocean on a cable. It was devised by a man named Otis Barton, and designed by Captain John Butler. -
SONAR
SOund Navigation And Ranging. It is a sound propagation usually used underwater to navigate, communicate, or detect other vessels. -
Ptolemy 168 AD
He developed a map of the globe that was used for over 1000 years.
