I was surprised to read that archaeologists had recently discovered only the second Roman port in Britain. Prior to the discovery in excavations near the Roman fortress of Caerleon, just north of Newport, south Wales, the only other Roman port known to have … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Thanks to Maritime Great Britain for reminding us that today is indeed Trafalgar Day, commemorating Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets and his tragic death at the Battle of Trafalgar on this day in 1805. They also reminded us that on this day in … Continue reading
Archaeologists from the University of Manchester have excavated the first known Viking ship burial on mainland Britain, believed to be roughly a 1,0000 years old. The boat burial site was found near Ockle on the Ardnamurchan peninsula, Scotland. Archaeologist Dr Hannah Cobb said the “artefacts and preservation make … Continue reading
This week Sable Island became the Canada’s newest national park. Almost three hundred kilometers out into the Atlantic off the coast of Nova Scotia, it is a scimitar shaped sandbar which seems to have no business being there at all. … Continue reading
We are rapidly approaching the bi-centennial of the War of 1812, a largely forgotten conflict which was, in many respects, a continuation of the American War of Independence from Great Britain. The war was characterized by American incompetence and bumbling … Continue reading
Last Friday we posted about the USS Arthur W Radford as an artificial reef. Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing on this video of the wreck of HMS Hermes, which is a popular dive site off near Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. … Continue reading
Happy Columbus Day to those in the United States and Happy Thanksgiving to those in Canada. On Columbus Day, it seems appropriate to consider the role of error in discovery. While many of us were taught in school that Columbus proved that … Continue reading
The evacuation of British troops and civilians from France in 1940 did not end with Dunkirk. Several weeks later, on June 17, 1940, the British Cunard liner Lancastria was loaded to capacity with troops and civilians off the French port of St. Nazaire, when she … Continue reading
Two hundred and fifty three years ago today, Horatio Nelson was born in in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, the sixth of eleven children. He went to sea at 12 on a ship commanded by a maternal uncle. He would become the … Continue reading
Today the Google “doodle,” the image that appears above the Google search box, was an orange. Why an orange? If you clicked on the doodle it took you to a search for Albert Szent-Györgyi, the Hungarian physiologist who is credited with discovering … Continue reading
If Malcom McLean was the father of containerization, then Keith Tantlinger, who died recently at the age of 92, was the father of the shipping container. Tantlinger’s container designs spurred the containerization revolution that forever changed both shipping and world trade. The idea of “containerizing” … Continue reading
On this day in 1754, William Bligh was born. Following the famous mutiny on HMS Bounty, his name would become synonymous with harsh discipline bordering on tyranny. The mutiny on the Bounty would be only one of four mutinies that Bligh would live … Continue reading
The news that the battleship USS Iowa has found a new home brings to mind the story of the battleship and the destroyer USS William D Porter, nicknamed the “Willie D.” The USS Iowa served in World War II as … Continue reading
There was no actual battle at the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth off Scotland. Nevertheless, on the night of January 31st and the morning of February 1st, 1918, 270 sailors of the Royal Navy lost their lives off the Isle of May … Continue reading
For the third year of a three year program, Parks Canada archaeologists have failed in their attempt at finding the wrecks of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. This year they searched an area west of King William Island, where Sir John Franklin and his expedition became … Continue reading
Given the arrival of Hurricane Irene to the East Coast of the US, it seems worthwhile to take a look back at the Hurricane of 1938, also known as the Long Island Express, the Yankee Clipper and the Great New … Continue reading
Last July, a Parks Canada expedition discovered the wreck of HMS Investigator, a ship which sank in 1853 after becoming trapped in the ice while searching for Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition in the Canadian Arctic. Exploration of the wreck … Continue reading
On August 15th, 1653, the Dutch East India Company ship, Sperwer (Sparrow Hawk), was shipwrecked on Jeju Island off the southern coast of Korea. Thirty six of the sixty four crew survived. One of the survivors was the ship’s book keeper, Hendrick … Continue reading
This is an interesting story for several reasons. First, archaeologists believe that they may have discovered the wreckage of a 17th century ship lost off the coast of Panama in 1671, from the famed Captain Henry Morgan‘s fleet. Second, a … Continue reading
At a time when many maritime museums in the United States are struggling to just maintain their ships and indeed several are attempting to get rid of them, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is building a new historic replica, the San Salvador, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo‘s flagship. In the … Continue reading