-
276
B.C. Eratosthenes
the world’s circumference by using
observations obtained while looking down a
well on the summer solstice, when the sun is
directly over head at the Tropic of Cancer.
He noticed that the well was totally
illuminated at noon and made several
mathematical assumptions and calculations
based on distances of two cities, angles, and
circumference of a circle. -
Jan 7, 1400
prince henry the navigator
Early to mid 1400’s Prince Henry “The
Navigator” established a marine observatory to
improve the Portuguese sailing endeavors and
conquered one of the greatest trades
problems-getting around the tip of Africa
The Cape of Good Hope was finally rounded by
Bartholomeu Diaz in 1486
Explored canary isles, African coast (Columbus
1492)
Vasco de Gama rounded Africa and continued
on to India in 1498
This event was followed by Spain, England, &
other Europeans searching for new lands.
The Pacif -
Jan 7, 1513
Magellan
Spanish
captain, Ferdinand
Magellan, circumnavigated
the globe through a passage
way at 52° S latitude now
called the Straights of
Magellan. -
James Cook
notoriety and several more voyages charting New
Zealand, East coast of Australia, southern India
Ocean. South Pacific, rediscovered Easter Island and
many others along the way.
Cook was noted for preserving the health of his crew
by requiring them to drink Lime Juice regularly
preventing scurvy and developing a chronometer
which is used to determine longitudinal locations.
Cook discovered Hawaiian group in 1778 and
determined the outline of the worlds largest ocean
and the first person known -
Benjamin Franklin
Discovering Surface currents
and therefore in 1777 published
the first map of the Gulf
Stream.
Suggested use of thermometers
to locate warm waters of G.S.
– Eastbound stay in G.S.
– Westbound avoid G.S. -
Charles Darwin
investigated the whole
of nature leading him to make
one of the most outstanding
contributions to biology while
on his voyage aboard the
H.M.S Beagle.
December 27, 1831 – Under
Captain Robert Fitzroy a 5
year trip surveyed the coast
line resulted in
Darwin Publishing several
papers the most famous ones
being his papers Natural
Selection and The Origin of
the Species. -
Matthew Maury
In 1853 established uniform methods of
making nautical and meteorological
observations at sea.
This standardization greatly increased the
dependability of such data summarized in his
publication The Physical Geography of the
Sea. -
Period: to
challenger expedition
First large-scale voyage with the
purpose of increasing knowledge of the
distribution of life in the ocean and of
the chemical and physical properties of
the ocean -
B.C. Phoenicians
Traveled extensively throughout
Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean.
They discovered the Canary Islands and
established trade with Eastern Asia. -
B.C Pytheas
Pytheas sailed northward from Greece
to Iceland in 325 BC and worked out a
method for determining latitudes and
using astronomical measurements
proposed that tides were a product of
lunar influences.
Pytheas is also responsible for contributions to early
navigation methods that we still use today.
He measured the angle between the horizon and the
North Star (Polaris is located directly above the -
A.D Eric The Red
982 A.D. Eric the Red sailed westward from
Greenland and discovered Baffin Island.
995 A.D. Eric’s son, Leif Ericson, discovered what was
then called Vineland and spent the winter in an area
of North America we call Newfoundland.
Beginning in the 13th century the climate again began
to cool and the North Atlantic began to clog with ice
throughout most of the year once again isolating the
Viking colonies north where they were unable to
“move” into the new territories they had found.
