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200 BCE
Circumference of the Earth Discovered
An estimate of about 2,000 years ago, the Earth’s circumference was discovered by a man named Eratosthenes in 200 BC. Eratosthenes was a Greek man who died in 194 BC in Alexandria, Egypt, famous for his skills as a mathematician, but also known for his profession as a poet, librarian, astronomer, historian, etc. He made the located the first measurements of the Earth’s size/circumference. -
150 BCE
Ptolemy's Map
A Greek astronomer and geographer named Ptolemy constructed a map of an ancient world consisting of Europe, Asia and Africa. He included most oceans especially surrounding the continents. Ptolemy's map is known to be one of the first maps ever created that included longitude and latitude on the map itself. -
900
Vikings Expedition Begins
In 900, the vikings, also known as Northmen, began to scout and wander Greenland, Iceland and the Newfoundland to colonize. It is unknown why the vikings left their homeland to venture outside (maybe overpopulation), but it is known that they were searching for riches, not the land itself. They were also the first to use the North Star to guide themselves and locate their destinations. -
1410
Ptolemy's Map Rediscovered
After the European campaigns captured the bygone Roman libraries, known for his famous map of the ancient world Ptolemy's map was rediscovered and published. -
First Submarine
The first ever submarine was invented by Cornelius Drebbel in 1620. Drebbel was a Dutch engineer, physician, and innovator who came up with every measurement along with the chemistry, control systems and optics for the submarine. -
First Waterproof Suit
Chevalier de Beauve, a French Navy officer/guard, designed the very first lead shoes waterproof suit in 1715. Two leather tubes fastened to the helmet to supply ventilation from the ground. -
First Modern Sounding
Sir James Clark Ross conducted the first deep-water open ocean sounding at Latitude 27 S Longitude 17 W in 2425 fathoms (14,450 feet) in the South Atlantic Ocean in early 1840. -
First Deep Sea Canyon Discovered
James Alden, a Coast Survey Steamer Active commanding officer, found a deep underwater canyon, also known as "gulch", in the middle of Monterey Bay off California's coast. The first documented deep sea canyon which is now known as Monterey Canyon, had been found by Alden. This canyon reaches a depth of 11,800 feet and extends 95 miles into the Pacific Ocean. -
Titanic Sinks
After striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean, the White Star Liner Titanic sunk. More than 1,500 people were killed in one of the worst horrific accidents in the history of peacetime. This catastrophe leads to a systematic effort to develop an acoustic way to discover objects in the water in front of a moving boat. -
First Acoustic Exploration of the Sea Floor
in the early 1910's, Reginald Fessenden a Canadian inventor, bounced sound waves between an iceberg and the sea floor using an oscillator. This experiment marked the start of the sea's acoustic discovery. The technology leads to sonar development, which allows submarines to signal each other and allowing icebergs to be detected by ships. -
Deepest Dive in Dive Suit
Dr. Sylvia Earle set a new record in a diving suit for the deepest dive. She walked unassisted at a depth of 1,250 feet (381 meters) using a modern pressurized steel suit known as the JIM suit. Dr. Earle explored the depths off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii for two and a half hours with only a communication line connecting her to a submersible, and nothing connecting her to the world outside. -
Titanic Found
Dr. Robert Ballard explores the Titanic's wreck with the aid of a small robotic submarine called Jason. The wreck was located at about 375 miles off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada at 12,500 feet (two and a half miles) of water. Titanic is contained in two separate pieces, with hopes that the powerful ship would one day arise again.
