1.
Nathaniel Bowditch
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Nathaniel Bowditch was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. Nathaniel Bowditch, the fourth of seven children, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to Habakkuk Bowditch, a cooper, and Mary Bowditch. At the age of ten, he was made to school to work in his fathers cooperage. In 1786, age fourteen, Bowditch began to study algebra and he also taught himself Latin in 1790 and French in 1792 so he was able to read mathematical works such as Isaac Newtons Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. He found thousands of errors in John Hamilton Moores The New Practical Navigator, at eighteen, among his many significant scientific contributions would be a translation of Pierre-Simon de Laplaces Mécanique céleste, a lengthy work on mathematics and theoretical astronomy. This translation was critical to the development of astronomy in the United States, in 1795, Bowditch went to sea on the first of four voyages as a ships clerk and captains writer. His fifth voyage was as master and part owner of a ship, following this voyage, he returned to Salem in 1803 to resume his mathematical studies and enter the insurance business. One of his homes in Salem, the Nathaniel Bowditch House. This house has designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1798 Bowditch married Elizabeth Boardman, who died seven months later, in 1800 Bowditch married his second wife and cousin, Mary Ingersoll Bowditch. They had 2 daughters and 6 sons, including Henry Ingersoll Bowditch, among his grandchildren were Henry Pickering Bowditch and Charles Pickering Bowditch. In 1802, his book The American Practical Navigator was first published and that same year, Harvard University awarded Bowditch an honorary Master of Arts degree. In 1804, Bowditch became Americas first insurance actuary as president of the Essex Fire, under his direction, the company prospered despite difficult political conditions and the War of 1812. He was offered the chair of mathematics and physics at Harvard in 1806, in 1804, an article on his observations of the Moon was published and in 1806 he published naval charts of several harbors, including Salem. As well as Harvard, the United States Military Academy and the University of Virginia offered Bowditch chairs in mathematics, Bowditch again refused these offers, perhaps because the $2,000 salary offered was two-thirds of the salary he received as president of the insurance company. Bowditchs translation of the first four volumes of Laplaces Traité de mécanique céleste was completed by 1818, publication of the work, however, was delayed for many years, most likely due to cost. Nonetheless, he continued to work on it with the assistance of Benjamin Peirce, by 1819, Bowditchs international reputation had grown to the extent that he was elected as a member of the Royal Societies of Edinburgh and London and the Royal Irish Academy. In 1823, Bowditch left the Essex Fire and Marine Insurance Company to become an actuary for the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company in Boston, there he served as a money manager for wealthy individuals who made their fortunes at sea, directing their wealth toward manufacturing
2.
War Shipping Administration
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The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Commission and ship allocation under the WSA to Army, land who continued as head of the Maritime Commission while also heading the WSA. A shortage of vessels further complicated by requirements to take out of service for conversion and armament was of concern at the highest levels. Harry Hopkins reporting directly to the President, differences between the organizations and lack of decisive authority short of the President limited the boards effectiveness. Upon establishment of the WSA the Strategic Shipping Board continued in existence in a diminished role under the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On February 7,1942, the WSA was established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelts Executive Order No.9054, February 7,1942 as the U. S. had entered the war. The WSA was administratively split off from the United States Maritime Commission, established in 1936 and those included the production of Liberty ships and Victory ships among other types. The U. S. fleet expanded to some 3,500 dry cargo vessels, on a practical level The Maritime Commission and the WSA worked closely together under the administration of Vice Admiral Emory S. Land at the head of each and it became apparent immediately when this Nation entered the war that a special agency to deal with the operational problems peculiar to war was necessary to supplement the Maritime Commission. Thus WSA became the Governments ship operating agency and the Maritime Commission its shipbuilding agency, under that authority cargo hulls were allocated to either commerce, Army or Navy. Many of the Armys ships and Naval transports were allocated by WSA, WSA, through its agents, directly operated ships in support of the services and civilian requirements. After the war, WSA vessels were used to home the huge number of armed personnel overseas, as part of Operation Magic Carpet. Over 3,500,000 men were brought home from overseas areas by December 1,1945, on September 1,1946, the WSA functions were returned to the Maritime Commission. Combined Shipping Adjustment Board United States Merchant Marine Victory ship Ships for Victory, A History of Shipbuilding under the U. S. Maritime Commission in World War II, ISBN 0-8018-6752-5 LCCN2001018657 United States Government Manual,1945 War Shipping Administration section American Merchant Marine at War
3.
Portland, Oregon
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Portland is a port and the largest city in the U. S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County. It is in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette, the city covers 145 square miles and had an estimated population of 632,309 in 2015, making it the 26th most populous city in the United States. Approximately 2,389,228 people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area and its Combined Statistical Area ranks 17th with a population of 3,022,178. Roughly 60% of Oregons population resides within the Portland metropolitan area, named after Portland, Maine, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1830s near the end of the Oregon Trail. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the industry was a major force in the citys early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. After the citys economy experienced a boom during World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its liberal political values, and the city has earned a reputation as a bastion of counterculture. According to a 2009 Pew Research Center study, Portland ranks as the eighth most popular American city, the city operates with a commission-based government guided by a mayor and four commissioners as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. The city government is notable for its planning and investment in public transportation. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool and this climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the City of Roses for over a century. Keep Portland Weird is a slogan for the city. During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula and these massive floods occurred during the last ice age and filled the Willamette Valley with 300 to 400 feet of water. The Chinook people occupying the land which would become Portland were first documented by Meriwether Lewis, before its European settlement, the Portland Basin of the lower Columbia River and Willamette River valleys had been one of the most densely populated regions on the Pacific Coast. Large numbers of settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1830s via the Oregon Trail. In the early 1840s a new settlement began emerging ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River and this community was initially referred to as Stumptown and The Clearing because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. In 1843 William Overton saw potential in the new settlement but lacked the funds to file a land claim. For 25 cents Overton agreed to half of the 640-acre site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston
4.
IMO number
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The International Maritime Organization number is a unique reference for ships and for registered ship owners and management companies. IMO numbers were introduced under the SOLAS Convention to improve safety and security. For ships, the IMO number remains linked to the hull for its lifetime, regardless of a change in name, flag, or owner. The ship number consists of the three letters IMO followed by a unique number assigned to sea-going merchant ships under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. In 1987 the IMO adopted Resolution A, in the SOLAS Convention cargo ships means ships which are not passenger ships. Passenger ships should carry the marking on a horizontal surface visible from the air. When introduced, the IMO adopted the existing unique ship numbers applied to ships listed by Lloyds Register since 1963, IMO ship identification numbers are assigned by IHS Fairplay. For new vessels the IMO number is assigned to a hull during construction, the IMO ship identification number is made of the three letters IMO followed by the seven-digit number. This consists of a six-digit sequential unique number followed by a check digit, the integrity of an IMO number can be verified using its check digit. This is done by multiplying each of the first six digits by a factor of 2 to 7 corresponding to their position from right to left, the rightmost digit of this sum is the check digit. For example, for IMO9074729, + + + + + =139, in May 2005, IMO adopted a new SOLAS regulation XI-1/3-1 on the mandatory company and registered owner identification number scheme, with entry into force on 1 January 2009. Like the IMO ship number, the identification number is a seven-digit number with the prefix IMO
5.
Oceanography
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Oceanography, also known as oceanology, is the study of the physical and the biological aspects of the ocean. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past, humans first acquired knowledge of the waves and currents of the seas and oceans in pre-historic times. Observations on tides were recorded by Aristotle and Strabo, early exploration of the oceans was primarily for cartography and mainly limited to its surfaces and of the animals that fishermen brought up in nets, though depth soundings by lead line were taken. Although Juan Ponce de León in 1513 first identified the Gulf Stream, Franklin measured water temperatures during several Atlantic crossings and correctly explained the Gulf Streams cause. Franklin and Timothy Folger printed the first map of the Gulf Stream in 1769-1770, information on the currents of the Pacific Ocean was gathered by explorers of the late 18th century, including James Cook and Louis Antoine de Bougainville. James Rennell wrote the first scientific textbooks on oceanography, detailing the current flows of the Atlantic, during a voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in 1777, he mapped the banks and currents at the Lagullas. He was also the first to understand the nature of the intermittent current near the Isles of Scilly, Robert FitzRoy published a four-volume report of the Beagles three voyages. In 1841–1842 Edward Forbes undertook dredging in the Aegean Sea that founded marine ecology, the first superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory, Matthew Fontaine Maury devoted his time to the study of marine meteorology, navigation, and charting prevailing winds and currents. His 1855 textbook Physical Geography of the Sea was one of the first comprehensive oceanography studies, many nations sent oceanographic observations to Maury at the Naval Observatory, where he and his colleagues evaluated the information and distributed the results worldwide. Despite all this, human knowledge of the oceans remained confined to the topmost few fathoms of the water, almost nothing was known of the ocean depths. The Royal Navys efforts to all of the worlds coastlines in the mid-19th century reinforced the vague idea that most of the ocean was very deep. As exploration ignited both popular and scientific interest in the regions and Africa, so too did the mysteries of the unexplored oceans. The seminal event in the founding of the science of oceanography was the 1872-76 Challenger expedition. As the first true oceanographic cruise, this laid the groundwork for an entire academic. In response to a recommendation from the Royal Society, The British Government announced in 1871 an expedition to explore worlds oceans, charles Wyville Thompson and Sir John Murray launched the Challenger expedition. The Challenger, leased from the Royal Navy, was modified for scientific work, under the scientific supervision of Thomson, Challenger travelled nearly 70,000 nautical miles surveying and exploring. On her journey circumnavigating the globe,492 deep sea soundings,133 bottom dredges,151 open water trawls and 263 serial water temperature observations were taken, around 4,700 new species of marine life were discovered. The result was the Report Of The Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H. M. S, Murray, who supervised the publication, described the report as the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
6.
Research vessel
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A research vessel is a ship or boat designed, modified, and/or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles, some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated vessel. Due to the nature of the work, research vessels are often constructed around an icebreaker hull. The research ship had origins in the voyages of exploration. By the time of James Cooks Endeavour, the essentials of what today we would call a ship are clearly apparent. In 1766, the Royal Society hired Cook to travel to the Pacific Ocean to observe, the Endeavour was a sturdy boat, well designed and equipped for the ordeals she would face, and fitted out with facilities for her research personnel, Joseph Banks. And, as is common with contemporary research vessels, Endeavour carried out more than one kind of research, some other notable early research vessels were HMS Beagle, RV Calypso, HMS Challenger, USFC Albatross, and the Endurance and Terra Nova. The names of early research vessels have been used to later research vessels. A hydrographic survey ship is a designed to conduct hydrographic research. Nautical charts are produced from this information to ensure safe navigation by military, hydrographic survey vessels also conduct seismic surveys of the seabed and the underlying geology. Apart from producing the charts, this information is useful for detecting geological features which are likely to bear oil or gas, in practice, hydrographic survey vessels are often equipped to perform multiple roles. Some function also as oceanographic research ships, naval hydrographic survey vessels often do naval research, for example, on submarine detection. An example of a survey vessel is CCGS Frederick G. Creed. For an example of the employment of a survey ship see HMS Hydra and these vessels often also carry scientific divers and unmanned underwater vehicles. Since the requirements of both oceanographic and hydrographic research are very different from those of fisheries research, these boats often fulfill dual roles, examples of an oceanographic research vessel include the NOAAS Ronald H. Brown and the Chilean Navy Cabo de Hornos. An example of a research vessel is FRV Scotia. Naval research vessels investigate naval concerns, such as submarine and mine detection, sonar, an example of a naval research vessel is the Planet of the German Navy. Polar research vessels are constructed around a hull, allowing them to operate in polar waters
7.
Steam turbine
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A steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884, in 1551, Taqi al-Din in Ottoman Egypt described a steam turbine with the practical application of rotating a spit. Steam turbines were described by the Italian Giovanni Branca and John Wilkins in England. The devices described by Taqi al-Din and Wilkins are today known as steam jacks, in 1672 an impulse steam turbine driven car was designed by Ferdinand Verbiest. A more modern version of car was produced some time in the late 18th century by an unknown German mechanic. The modern steam turbine was invented in 1884 by Sir Charles Parsons, the invention of Parsons steam turbine made cheap and plentiful electricity possible and revolutionized marine transport and naval warfare. Parsons design was a reaction type and his patent was licensed and the turbine scaled-up shortly after by an American, George Westinghouse. The Parsons turbine also turned out to be easy to scale up. Parsons had the satisfaction of seeing his invention adopted for all major world power stations, a number of other variations of turbines have been developed that work effectively with steam. The de Laval turbine accelerated the steam to full speed before running it against a turbine blade, De Lavals impulse turbine is simpler, less expensive and does not need to be pressure-proof. It can operate with any pressure of steam, but is less efficient. He taught at the École des mines de Saint-Étienne for a decade until 1897, one of the founders of the modern theory of steam and gas turbines was Aurel Stodola, a Slovak physicist and engineer and professor at the Swiss Polytechnical Institute in Zurich. His work Die Dampfturbinen und ihre Aussichten als Wärmekraftmaschinen was published in Berlin in 1903, a further book Dampf und Gas-Turbinen was published in 1922. It was used in John Brown-engined merchant ships and warships, including liners, the present-day manufacturing industry for steam turbines is dominated by Chinese power equipment makers. Other manufacturers with minor market share include Bhel, Siemens, Alstom, GE, Doosan Škoda Power, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan projects that manufacturing of steam turbines will become more consolidated by 2020 as Chinese power manufacturers win increasing business outside of China. There are several classifications for modern steam turbines, Turbine blades are of two basic types, blades and nozzles. Blades move entirely due to the impact of steam on them and this results in a steam velocity drop and essentially no pressure drop as steam moves through the blades. A turbine composed of alternating with fixed nozzles is called an impulse turbine, Curtis turbine, Rateau turbine
