Historical Discoveries Timeline- Oceanography

First ocean vessels

4000 BCE

Ancient Egyptians started to develop the first sailing vessels (navigation)

First sea routes

600 BCE

Ancient Phoenicians started to develop sea routes around the Mediterranean, into the Red Sea, and into the Indian Ocean (navigation)

First diving bell

1535

Guglielmo de Lorena invented the first real diving bell. It was mainly used for treasure hunting (recreation)

First submarine

1620

Cornelis Drebbel built the first submarine. It was made of wood and iron and covered with leather. 12 oarsmen can be seated inside. They row with oars that stick out the sides through tight fitting leather sleeves to keep the water out. (navigation)

First waterproof suit

1715

Sir Pierre Rémy de Beauve, a guard in the French Navy, developed a diving suit which was a waterproof dress with lead shoes and a metal helmet (military)

First diving suit

1797

Karl Heinrich Klingert, a German mechanic, created the first "diving suit”. It consisted of a jacket and trousers made of waterproof leather, a helmet with a porthole, and a metal front. (scientific research)

US Coast Survey formed

1807

Thomas Jefferson established the US Coast Survey which was an organization that studied the eastern coast of the US and took data on tides and tidal currents, sea floor types, and features of near-shore waters. (scientific research)

First scuba dive

1825

William H. James designed the first scuba gear (scientific research)

First sounding

1840

British Royal Navy officer Sir James Clark Ross started the first open ocean deep-water sounding in 14,450 feet in the south Atlantic ocean (scientific research)

Discovery of deep sea life

1853

Louis F. de Pourtales, a member of the US Coast Survey, examined Coast Survey sounding operations that found indications of deep sea life in areas over 6,000 feet (scientific research)