Oceanography Timeline

By gracemozeika
  • 3000 BCE

    First ships

    First ships
    Ancient Egyptians, when needing to navigate, realized it was impossible to swim across the ocean. They assembled planks of wood into a ship as early as 3000 BC. (navigation)
  • 600 BCE

    First sea routes

    First sea routes
    The first sea routes began as early as 600 BC. With mapping and charting, there became specific journeys people took for trade. (trade, navigation)
  • 1111

    Compass

    Compass
    Although the compass was invented beforehand, it began to be used for maritime voyages around the year 1111. This impacted navigation by providing sailors with a better sense of direction. (navigation)
  • 1519

    First circumnavigation

    First circumnavigation
    Ferdinand Magellan was the first to sail around the globe. He crossed the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, traveling all the way from Spain. (navigation, scientific research)

  • First military submarine

    First military submarine
    Named "Turtle" and operated by the Continental Army, the first military submarine was meant to sink British ships in the New York Harbor. However, it failed. (military)

  • First scuba system

    First scuba system
    William James invented the first open-circuit scuba system. The air breathed would be vented into the water, instead of being "re-breathed." (recreation)

  • Challenger Expedition

    Challenger Expedition
    The Challenger Expedition's goal was to gather data about ocean features like marine life, temperatures, the geography of the ocean, etc. The crew ended up finding over 4,700 new species and sailed over 68,890 miles. (scientific research)

  • Titanic sinkage

    Titanic sinkage
    The famous ship Titanic struck an iceberg and sunk in the Atlantic ocean. Because of this unfortunate event, people worked to form a system where things in front of the vessel could be senses ahead of time. (navigation)

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    The NOAA was founded to ensure that the US government is responsible for things such as water mapping, management of fisheries, and scientific research going into oceanography. (scientific research)

  • Siphonophore Apolemia

    Siphonophore Apolemia
    The latest discovery in the ocean was the largest there has ever been. Off the coast of Australia and in the Indian Ocean, this longest siphonophore was at around 630 meters deep. (scientific research)