Two Roman-era shipwrecks have been found in water slightly less than a mile deep off the western Greek islands of Corfu and Paxoi. The two third-century wrecks were discovered earlier this month during a survey of an area where a Greek-Italian gas pipeline … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Shipwrecks tend to be pretty stationary. They are not prone to wandering about. Now, however, an Elizabethan shipwreck dating from 1574, which was recovered from the River Thames in 2003, is on the move. The remains of the 16th-century “Gresham … Continue reading
Charles Spencer, writing for the Telegraph, had a hunch. After reviewing the Royal Shakespeare Company’s trilogy of Shakespeare’s “shipwreck” plays last month, he found himself wondering whether the Bard spent his so-called “lost years” before his arrival in London, as … Continue reading
The intheboatshed.net blog recently featured a wonderful short video, The Little Ships of England, produced in 1943, highlighting wooden boat building in England during World War II. The Little Ships of England [iframe: src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/38928688?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff” width=”500″ height=”375″ frameborder=”0″ webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen] … Continue reading
One hundred and fifty years ago today, Robert Smalls, a 23 year old mulatto slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, led eight fellow slaves in an audacious flight to freedom. They seized the CSS Planter, steamed … Continue reading
Yesterday, we posted the obituary of Claude Holloway, a British Motor Torpedo Boat commander, who heroically saved dozens of sailors in the German attack on Bari, Italy in 1943. Holloway was nearly killed by mustard gas bombs secretly carried aboard the American Liberty … Continue reading
Claude Holloway died recently at the age of 93. He was one of the most successful motor torpedo boat commanders in the Mediterranean in the Second World War, earning a Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the Caorle Point … Continue reading
The attorneys for Odyssey Marine Exploration have been keeping busy. In February we posted about the end of a multi-year legal battle between Spain and Odyssey Marine Exploration over $500m in gold and silver coins and other artifacts from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes. … Continue reading
In 1865, the CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad battery was burned and sunk in the Savannah River to avoid capture and to obstruct passage on the river. (The ship was scuttled not far from where the British sank the frigate HMS … Continue reading
Seventy yeas ago, the Japanese and navies of the United States and Australia fought the Battle of the Coral Sea in the waters southwest of the Solomon Islands and eastward from New Guinea in a series of naval battles from May … Continue reading
Trinity Church at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, is one of the oldest congregations in the state. Captain William Kidd was a church elder, in the years before he turned pirate. Captain Kidd donated a block and … Continue reading
World War II ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. Nevertheless, over 60 years later, the threat from left over munitions continues and may be getting worse. Last November, we posted about bombs along the Rhine, where a drought was revealing un-exploded ordinance in German river banks. Then … Continue reading
On April 24, 1906, John Paul Jones was buried for the second time. His first burial, on July 20, 1792, in a graveyard outside the walls of Paris, was attended by a servant and few loyal friends and soldiers. Paul Jones’ longtime friend Gouverneur Morris, American … Continue reading
Very few of the bodies of the 1514 passengers and crews who died on the Titanic were ever recovered. Recently released photographs, which raise the question of whether or not here are human remains at the wreck site, have become central to a … Continue reading
Today, on the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with the loss of 1,514 lives, it would be appropriate for a learned historian at an august university to sit down to ponder the commercialization of history and to consider how our consumer culture … Continue reading
In June of 1912, Joseph Conrad wrote “Some Reflections on the Loss of the Titanic” for the English Review. While best known as a novelist, his comments reflect his years as a ship’s officer in both sail and steam. He finds little … Continue reading
The BBC recently published an article titled “Five Titanic myths spread by films.” The first alleged myth is that the White Star Line never claimed that the Titanic was “unsinkable.” The article asserts: ” The White Star Line never made … Continue reading
What does J.P. Morgan, the American financier, and the passenger ships, RMS Titanic and SS United States have in common? Everyone knows that White Star Line, the owner of the RMS Titanic, was a British Company. Fewer are aware that White … Continue reading
A menu of the last meal served to first-class passengers on board the Titanic has sold at auction for £76,000. The menu was dated April 14, 1912 and featured several courses, such as eggs Argenteuil, consomme fermier and chicken a la … Continue reading
Two letters from the Titanic are in the news. One is a letter from Dr. John Edward Simpson, who died when the ship sank, He wrote to his mother on April 11, 1912, on notepaper headed RMS Titanic, and had it … Continue reading