The Ely miner., 1931-07-10

and the third of a great
perhaps the greatest
American painter. To every Ameri
can the names of James Monroe, Walt
Whitman and James Abbott MacNeil
Whistler are familiar enough, but how
many would recognize the name OF
the fourth man thus honored-Mat'
thew Fontaine Maury, an officer in the
United States navy? Yet, in his field
of activity, Maury was as great if not
greater than were the others in theirs
And it is one of the parodoXes of
American history that, as a recent
biographer of him said, mo other
great American has ever received so
many honors abroad and so little rec
ognition at home as has Matthew Fon.
taine Maury."
Belated though the recognition has
been, it must be said that his country
men have given that recognition in a
4 somewhat full measure in recent
years. Three years ago there was
erected in Richmond, Va, the state
which claims him as one of her great
sons, a beautiful memorial to 'the
Pathfinder of the Seas" and the recent
ceremony at New York university was
an added gesture of tribute to the fa-
| ther of modern scientific navigation.
For sailormen the world over know
the name of Maury. To this day the
pilot charts issued at regular intervals
by the photographic Office bear the no.
tation founded upon the researches
made . by Matthew FOntaine
Maury." To this day weather fore
casting is done in accordance with fun
damental principles established by
Maury, and to this day his scientific
tests, revised in accordance with more
reecnet discoveries, are studied in the
schools. Nor were these the only con-
tributions of this Tennessee farm boy
who became the leader in establish
ing means conquest of the seas. For
although the Old Dominion calls
Maury hers, Tennessee also has claim
! to him.
Born near Fredericksburg, Va, in
1906, Maury was the descendant of "a
distinguished Huguenot family that
settled in Virginia in Ills, real F. F..
V. His father migrated to Tennessee
when Matthew was a boy and there
in the forests near Franklin, 1S miles
north Of Nashville, he grew up. From
| the beginning he was adventurous by
nature and he decided to join the navy.
Despite the opposition of his father,
midshipmans warrant was secured
from Gen. Sam Houston, then repre-
sentative from Tennessee. With $75
which he had saved up, he bought an
old gray mare and set out upon the
long ride to Virginia. When he ar
rived at the home of cousin near
Charlottesville he had eXastly so cents
in his pocket. Pushing on to Wash
ington, he was ordered to report to
the q. s. S. Brandywine which was
about to sail for France to take back
distinguished visitor, Lafayette. In
cidentally, one of the midshipmen on
this frigate was youngster named
David Glasgow Farragut.
From the beginning young Maury
made a name for himself as "a horse
for work." Having seen Lafayette
safely home, Midshipman Maury's next
cruise was along the coasts of South
America. In 1929 he joined the Vim
cennes for a cruise around the world.
1t was the second American warship
| to enter eastern waters. 1t touched
several of the South Pacific islands,
around the Malay peninsula. past Cape
town and homeward bound to pause
at st. Helena to give the youthful Off
GERS a chance to see the tomb in which
lay the great Napoleon. After pass
ing his examinations Maury went to
sea again as sailing master of the
Falmouth on another voyage around
Cape Horn and up the west coast.
| Being anxious to make speed on this
trip he searched for information about
prevailing winds and currents and was
surprised to find that no such data
existed. This gave him the inspiration
| for the great work which he was to
do later.
After finishing this cruise Maury
went ashore for awhile, returned to
Fredericksburg, married the sweet
heart of his youth, Ann Herndon of
that city, and lived there for the next
seven years. Encouraged by the pub
lication of his narrative on navigating
the Horn, Maury decided to become a
writer. Fame came to him almost
Immediately. His book "New Theoret-
ieal and Practical Treatise on Naviga-
| tion," the first work on nautical
science ever written by an American
naval officer, won such immediate
approval that it replaced Bowditch's
work, lor" the standard, as the text
| book of JUNO. officers os the navy.