Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1806, Jan. 14 | Born near Fredericksburg, Va.; raised in Tennessee |
| 1818 | Entered Harpeth Academy, near Franklin, Tenn. |
| 1825-1834 | Obtained midshipman's warrant, U.S. Navy and made three extended voyages |
| 1834 | Married Ann Hull Herndon; resided in Fredericksburg, Va. |
| 1836 | Promoted to lieutenant Published A New Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Navigation (Philadelphia: Key and Biddle. 174 pp.) |
| 1839 | Permanently lamed in stagecoach accident and thenceforth not assigned to sea duty |
| 1842-1844 | Superintendent of the Navy Department's Depot of Charts and Instruments |
| 1844-1861 | Superintendent of the Naval Observatory and Hydrographical Office |
| 1847 | Issued first Wind and Current Charts (U.S. Hydrographical Office) showing best "tracks" for sailing ships in the North Atlantic |
| 1853 | U.S. representative at international maritime congress, Brussels, Belgium |
| 1855 | Published The Physical Geography of the Sea (New York: Harper & Bros. 274 pp.), the first modern oceanographic textbook Placed on inactive duty by the U.S. Navy |
| 1858 | Restored to active duty by presidential order; promoted to commander retroactive to 1855 |
| 1861, Apr. 20 | Resigned from U.S. Navy and accepted commission as commander in Confederate Navy |
| 1862 | Special agent of the Confederate government to England |
| 1865-1866 | Imperial commissioner of immigration to the Emperor of Mexico |
| 1866-1868 | Resided in England |
| 1868 | Published First Lessons in Geography (New York: Richardson & Co. 62 pp.) Published The World We Live in (New York: Richardson & Co. 104 pp.) |
| 1868-1872 | Professor of meteorology, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va. |
| 1870 | Published Manual of Geography (New York: University Publishing Co. 162 pp.) |
| 1873, Feb. 1 | Died, Lexington, Va. |