I am traveling this week, so it seems like a good time to repost an old blog favorite, the remarkable story of the unsinkable Hugh Williams. There is a video bouncing around the web these days called “The Strangest Coincidence … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
We recently posted about the five-masted full-rigged cruise ship Royal Clipper, a modern sailing ship designed as an homage to the great five-masted windjammer Preussen. Here is a repost of a guest post by Robin Denny about the mighty windjammer: With the Peking now … Continue reading
My wife and I are currently sailing as passengers on the cruise ship Royal Clipper, the second of only two five-masted full-rigged steel ships ever built. The first such ship was the mighty windjammer, Preussen, of 1902. The Royal Clipper, launched … Continue reading
For the next fortnight, I will be a passenger on a sailing ship crossing the briny blue of the Atlantic. This seems like a good time to make an updated repost on the color blue. Homer referred to the famously … Continue reading
On April Fool’s Day, a repost about not an April Fool’s Day prank but a hoax and a swindle. In October of 1897, at the height of the Alaskan Gold Rush, two men, Prescott Ford Jernegan, a Baptist minister, and … Continue reading
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it seems a good time to remember Mary Ann Brown Patten, the first woman to command an American merchant ship. An updated repost. The year was 1856. The ship was the clipper … Continue reading
Remember the old tongue twister, “She sells seashells by the seashore?” (Try saying that three times fast.) The tongue twisting seashell seller was inspired by a real woman named Mary Anning, an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist, who did indeed … Continue reading
At the beginning of the month, we posted a drone video of the battleship USS Texas being refloated following repairs and refurbishment on the drydock at the Gulf Copper Shipyard in Galveston. Here is another drone video of a historic … Continue reading
We recently posted about Kate Walker, the lighthouse keeper of the Robbins Reef Light in New York harbor for close to 35 years. Kate took over as keeper when her husband died of pneumonia in 1886. Oddly enough, in the … Continue reading
Last week, the National Park Service announced that its archeologists have identified the remains of HMS Tyger, an 18th-century British warship, within the boundaries of Dry Tortugas National Park, off the south coast of Florida. Built in 1647, the fourth-rate, … Continue reading
On St. Patrick’s Day, a repost about another Irish saint, St. Brendan the Navigator, and the adventurer who sought to replicate his epic voyage. Who was the first European to sail to North America? According to Irish tradition, it was … Continue reading
An updated repost in honor of Women’s History Month. In 1886, lighthouse keeper John Walker’s last words to his wife Kate as he died from pneumonia, were “Mind the light, Kate.” Kate, then 38 with two teenage children, took his … Continue reading
During Women’s History Month, it is good to remember and to honor Admiral Grace Hopper. Grace Hopper was a pioneering computer scientist and a United States Navy Rear Admiral. Hopper received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mathematics from … Continue reading
As March is Women’s History Month, it seems appropriate to remember the life and accomplishments of Susan Ahn Cuddy, a Korean American who would serve as the first female Asian-American officer in the US Navy and would also become the … Continue reading
In honor of both Women’s History Month and Black History Month, an updated repost about Gladys West. From maps to apps to chartplotters, we all rely on GPS these days, sometimes whether we realize it or not. Ethan Siegel wrote … Continue reading
A drone video of the 110-year-old battleship USS Texas being refloated following repairs and refurbishment on the drydock at the Gulf Copper Shipyard in Galveston. The Texas is the oldest remaining dreadnought battleship and only one of six surviving ships to … Continue reading
During Women’s History Month, it is a good time to honor Winnie Breegle who served in World War II as a WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) cryptographer and a Navajo “Code Talker”, who didn’t happen to be a … Continue reading
A red traditional Faroese knit sweater was recently found in a stash of 19th-century letters at the British National Archives in their Prize Papers collection. The sweater, or jumper in British parlance, handknitted in vibrantly colored fine wool, was intended … Continue reading
On the first day of Women’s History Month, it is worth remembering Eleanor Creesy, the navigator of the clipper ship Flying Cloud, who with her husband, Captain Josiah Creesy, set world sailing records for the fastest passage between New York … Continue reading
Today, the 29th of February, is Leap Day, which seems to be a perfect opportunity to celebrate both February’s Black History Month and March’s Women’s History Month. As such, it is a good time to honor the memory of Raye … Continue reading