The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-22
JOHN DAYS
 SUBMARINE E

In the development of the modern submarine the first and most impor- tant problem which demanded solu- ton was that of supplying the occu- pants of the craft with sufficient were secondary to this, and when the means of compressing air and storing it in tanks was discovered the rest was comparatively easy.
 Every schooIboy now knows that air is necessary to sustain life, but what is now a matter of common Knowledge among infants was a se- cret to savants not so very long ago. It was the lack of this simple infor- nation which cost the life of the i'm ventor of the first submarine ohm Day, an Englishman, who went. to his death on June 22, 1774, only 142 years ago today.
 Day was a wheeIwright of an in ventive turn of mind, and he early turned his attention to the problem of inventing a submarine, in which human beings could remain under water forN considerable length of time. After long thought he contriv- ed what he called a diving machine ,'' which consisted simply of a large air tight box, sufficiently large and strong to withstand the pressure of the wa ter at a considerable depth.
 Although he hoped eventually to find means of propelling his craft and making it useful, Day realized that in it's original form it could not be turn ed to any practical account, other than to demonstrate the possibility of man remaining under water for an extended period.
 Wishing to secure money to carry on his experiments, Day entered into contract with 9 sporting character named Blake, by which the latter was to wager large sums on the success of Days experiment, and to provide the funds for building the diving ma chine, giving Day ten per cent of all bets gained by it.
 Days plan was to attach his water tight box to an old vessel by means of screws. After Day entered the box it was to be carefully closed and the vessel was to be sunk to a depth of 100 feet. Day was to be provided with a watch, a candle, wine and food, and at the end of twenty-four hours he was to disengage his box from the vessel by withdrawing the screws, thus rising to the surface.
 Scientific men consulted by Day gravely admitted the feasibility of the plan, but declared that his original machine wes too small to withstand the pressure of water at the required l depth. Accordingly Day started the | construction of larger compartment and before it was completed the day set for the trial passed, and Blake lost all of the thousands of pounds he i had wagered on the inventors suc- 1 cess. So confident was the gambler l however, that he had Day set a new
 date, and proceeded to make other
 wagers, hoping thus to regain his losses.
 On the twenty-second of June, 1774 Days submarine" was ready, and g psot in Plymouth sound was chosen for the test The fooIhardy inventor entered his tomb, which was large
 enough to contain a bed, and the GOV i CT was fastened on. The vessel tc which the box was attached was ther sunk. At the end of twenty-foul l hours a vast crowd gathered to see Days emergence from the depths but i of course, they were disappointed Having overlooked the little item o1
 air, the country mil1wright was destin. ted never to rise from his self-buil 1 coffin.
 | Strangest of all, one of the leading l magazines of England, publication l devoted to ''arts, sciences and htera
 ture," shortly thereafter published z 1 learned article setting forth the req | sons for Days tragic failure, but en l tireIy overlooked the real reason.