Finding the Way: Navigation Tools from Antiquity to the 1890s (Hull)

The Hull Lifesaving Museum invites the public to step back in time for an illuminating lecture with Bill Gallagher, titled Finding the Way: Navigation Tools from Antiquity to the 1890s. Long before GPS and electronic charts, mariners crossed vast oceans using skill, observation, and ingenuity. In this engaging and family-friendly presentation, Gallagher traces the evolution of navigation from the earliest tools—such as the lodestone and early compasses—to increasingly sophisticated methods including timekeeping at sea, latitude and longitude, dead reckoning, and the creation of nautical charts. The lecture also explores how sailors relied on the natural world to guide their journeys, reading the winds, waves, stars, and currents, while adapting to changing ideas about the shape of the Earth. Together, these stories reveal the remarkable knowledge and problem-solving abilities that made global maritime travel possible centuries ago.  This talk is ideal for history lovers, boaters, students, and anyone curious about how humans learned to find their way across the seas—guided by nature, observation, and innovation.