HMS Wellesley is sunk (24 Sept 1815)
Sunk by bombing, 24 September 1940, raised and broken up 1948
HMS Wellesley was a 74-gun third rate, named after the Duke of Wellington, and launched in 1815. She captured . . .
Hollywood and the Sea:
Maritime History & Culture in Film
Register Here for the Zoom Seminar
Saturday, 5 November 2022
Welcome & Lecture at 11:00 AM ET, Q&A to Follow
Seminars are free to attend, although we hope you will . . .
Horatio Nelson’s Birthday (29 Sept 1758)
Born on 29 September 1758 in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, Horatio Nelson was the sixth of the 11 children of a clergyman. He joined the navy aged 12, on a ship commanded by a maternal uncle. He became a . . .
Hundreds drown in Eastland disaster (24 July 1915)
On July 24, 1915, the steamer Eastland overturns in the Chicago River, drowning between 800 and 850 of its passengers who were heading to a picnic. The disaster was caused . . .
Interesting NPR show on sea shanties, pirates, lighthouses, white whales and more
This is an interesting listen for maritime music and sea shanty fans. Interviewer Davis Dunavin features some prominent names from the contemporary music scene, along with . . .
Inventor of the Naval Chronometer Born (1693)
Born today 1693, John Harrison, the cantankerous Yorkshireman who would go on to invent the naval chronometer and solve the mystery of calculating longitude at sea.
Read . . .
Inventor of the Naval Chronometer Born (1693)
Born today, April 3, 1693, John Harrison, the cantankerous Yorkshireman who would go on to invent the naval chronometer and solve the mystery of calculating longitude at sea.
Read . . .
Jack Forbes Dies (2016)
Jack Forbes was a member of the Hoy Shanty Crew and Slow Loris. Jack passed away on January 30, 2016. He was the author of the much-covered modern maritime song, Rolling . . .
John Paul Jones burns Whitehaven, England
At 8 a.m. on April 23, 1778, John Paul Jones, with 30 volunteers from his ship, the USS Ranger, launches a surprise attack on the two harbor forts at Whitehaven, England. . . .
John Paul Jones burns Whitehaven, England (1778)
At 8 a.m. on April 23, 1778, John Paul Jones, with 30 volunteers from his ship, the USS Ranger, launches a surprise attack on the two harbor forts at Whitehaven, . . .
John Paul Jones dies
Naval hero John Paul Jones dies in Paris
On July 18, 1792, the Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones dies in his Paris apartment, where he was still awaiting a commission as the United States consul to Algiers. Commander Jones, remembered as one of the most daring and successful naval commanders of the American Revolution, was born in Scotland, on July 6, 1747. He became an apprentice to a merchant at 13 and soon went to sea, traveling first to the West Indies and then to North America as a young man.
In Virginia at the onset of the American Revolution, Jones sided with the Patriots and received a commission as a first lieutenant in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775. After departing from Brest, Jones successfully executed raids on two forts in England’s Whitehaven Harbor, despite a disgruntled crew more interested in gain than honor. Jones then continued to his home territory of Kirkcudbright Bay, Scotland, where he intended to abduct the earl of Selkirk and then exchange him for American sailors held captive by Britain. Although he did not find the earl at home, Jones’ crew was able to steal all his silver, including his wife’s teapot, still containing her breakfast tea. From Scotland, Jones sailed across the Irish Sea to Carrickfergus, where his Ranger captured the HMS Drake after delivering fatal wounds to the British ship’s captain and lieutenant.
John Paul Jones Sails to Raid British Ships (1777)
On November 2, 1777, the USS Ranger, with a crew of 140 men under the command of John Paul Jones, leaves Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the naval port at Brest, France, where it will stop before heading . . .
John Paul Jones Sets Out (1778)
Revolutionary War commander John Paul Jones sets out to raid British ships
On April 10, 1778, Commander John Paul Jones and his crew of 140 men aboard the USS Ranger set . . .
John Paul Jones Sets Sail
On November 2, 1777, the USS Ranger, with a crew of 140 men under the command of John . . .
John Paul Jones wins in English waters (23 Sept 1779)
During the American Revolution, . . .
John Quincy Adams begins arguments in Amistad case
On February 24, 1841, former President John Quincy Adams begins to argue the Amistad case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
A practicing lawyer and member of the House of Representatives, John Quincy . . .
Join a New Shanty Crew in Germany!
Here is an opportunity to join in a new shanty group with Folksinger Gunnar Wiegand!
Looking for singers for Shanty Crew
Hello everyone,
I live near Hameln . . .
King Charles II grants charter to Hudson’s Bay Company
May 2, 1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent . . .
Lady Elgin Sinks off Winnetka, Illinois (1860)
The loss of the side-wheel steamship Lady Elgin was one of Lake Michigan’s most tragic maritime disasters. On September 8, 1860, the ship, returning to Milwaukee from . . .
Lewis and Clark Depart 14 May 1804
One year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the . . .