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150
Ptolemy
Developed one of the first atlases with a "conic" projection that accounted for latitude and longitude. -
276
Eratosthenes
He first determined 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. -
325
Pytheas
He 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. He also measured the angle between the horizon and the North Star. -
Jan 1, 723
Venerable Bede
Figured out that the moon controls the tides. -
Jan 1, 1450
Prince Henry the Navigator, First Oceanogrphic Institution
He stablished a marine observatory to improve the Portuguese sailing endeavors and conquered one of the greatest trade problems -getting around the tip of Africa. -
Sep 1, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan
He was the first explorer to lead an expedition around the world. -
James Cook
He began calculating Longitudes and published his findings in the royal Society’s Philosophical transactions for 1767. He was also the first person known to cross the Atlantic circle. -
Benjamin Franklin, Discovered the Gulf Stream
He was the first to refer to the Gulf Stream as a "river in the ocean". Developed the first map of the Gulf Stream. -
Matthew Maury, Physical Geography of the Sea 1855
He wrote the first extensive and comprehensive book on oceanography to be published. Maury made many important new contributions to charting winds and ocean currents, including ocean lanes for passing ships at sea. -
Telegraph
In 1858, the first successful transatlantic cable was laid down. -
Charles Wyville Thomson, Challenger Expedition
Conducted 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls, 263 serial water temperature observations, and discovered about 4,700 new species of marine life. This expedition was the first oceanographic cruise. -
James Rennell
He wrote the first scientific textbooks about currents in the Atlantic and Indian oceans during the late 18th and at the beginning of 19th century. -
SONAR
SONAR is an acronym for "sound navigation and ranging". It is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels. -
William Beebe, Bathysphere
A bathysphere is a spherical metal diving vessel. In 1934, he made a record descent of 3,028 in this bathysphere and a total of 35 dives between 1930 and 1934. -
Arctic Institute of the USSR
The mountain range under the Arctic was found in 1954 by the Arctic Institute of the USSR.
