Titanic picture

Ocean Exploration Timeline

  • 4500 BCE

    Diving

    Diving
    During this time costal cultures like Greece and China were using diving to gather food and engage in commerce.
  • 1000 BCE

    Deep Diving Begins

    In this time a Greek poet names Homer mentions fisherman that dive as deep as 100ft into the ocean and carry rocks with them to weigh them down
  • 100 BCE

    Salvage Diving Flourishes

    During this time of ocean exploration, eastern Mediterranean are getting organized and made a payment scale by law for salvage work.
  • 1498

    Voyage of Vasco de Gama

    Vasco de Gama sails he ships around The Cape of Good Hope and becomes the first european to reach India by boat. He later returns with valuable cargo of rare species.
  • 1578

    First Plans for a Submarine

    William Bourne draws plans for the world's first underwater boat.
  • First Submarine

    First Submarine
    Cornelis Dabbrel builds the world's first ever submarine. He made several trips in his submarine only to about 15 ft below the ocean.
  • First Waterproof Suit

    Chevalier de Beauve develops a waterproof suit with lead shoes.
  • First Diving Suit

    First Diving Suit
    Karl Heinrich Klingert creates a device that is first to be called a diving suit. It consists of a jacket and trousers made of waterproof leather, a helmet with a porthole, and a metal front.
  • First use of Scuba

    William H. James designs a self contained underwater breathing apparatus, also known as scuba. His device allows the diver to be underwater for up to an hour.
  • First Deep Sea Canyon Discovered

    First Deep Sea Canyon Discovered
    James Alden discovered a deep submarine valley in the center of Monterey Bay off the coast of California.
  • Deep Sea Life in Abundance

    Deep Sea Life in Abundance
    Charles W. Thomson dredges the ocean floor from the HMS Lightning and Porcupine and discovers life as deep as 14,400 ft.
  • Titanic Sinks

    Titanic Sinks
    The Titanic sinks after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. Over 1500 passengers lost their lives.
  • Deepest Ocean Point Found

    A British Ship bounce sound waves off the ocean bottom and found what appears to be the deepest part of the ocean.
  • NOAA Established

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is established. This administration is in charge of monitoring all things to do with the atmosphere and the oceans.
  • Titanic Found

    Titanic Found
    Scientists used a tiny robotic submarine to discover the wreck of the titanic. It is found in two pieces off of the coast of Newfoundland in Canada.
  • First Video of the Giant Squid

    First Video of the Giant Squid
    A Japanese Expedition took the first video of the Giant Squid in it's natural environment.