Mathew Fontaine Maury

Many a times we miss men who impacted world immensely. One of them unknown to many is Mathew Fontaine Maury.

Thanks to a wonderfully written article How Maury Saved Millions and Unified the World with Data in the 1800s  by Christine Garcia, i could understand the immense contribution by Maury to the world of commerce, saving lives and reducing travelling time.

Great piece of writing worth reading. I will reproduce some portion to explain the contribution by Maury:

After Maury’s charts, voyage times were down across the world. The travel time for the route that started everything—from the U.S. to Rio de Janeiro—decreased from 41 days to an average 30 days. The Sea Serpent even completed the trip in a record 18 days.

Though he’s hardly a household name today, Matthew Fontaine Maury rocketed to fame for his work. By the beginning of the 1860s, he was known globally as the “Father of Oceanography” and “Pathfinder of the Seas”.