Map Monday, A Brief History of the Lighthouse

Everyone loves a lighthouse. The lone majestic tower standing tall on a remote promontory. Its powerful beacon shining across the water as a warning to mariners braving treacherous waters. Its image fills your soul with a sense of adventure, danger, and romance. As proof, this is a picture I took of the Sodus Point Lighthouse. It features the sun setting over Lake Ontario. You can also see the nearly full moon – it’s the white dot in the upper left corner of the picture. Even my poor picture taking skills – I couldn’t get the water in the same shot – can’t dilute the grandeur of a lighthouse.

Earliest Lighthouses

At sea mariners faced the dangers of storms, starvation, and pirates. Closer to shore sandbars, reefs, and shoals presented obstacles to their safe return. Initially, hilltop fires marked the safe entrances into harbors. To enhance the visibility, they elevated the fires on platforms – think the summoning beacons from the Lord of the Rings movies. Eventually, the platforms gave way to the more familiar towers. Built in the 3rd century BC, Pharos, the lighthouse for the port of Alexandria in Egypt, stood at 100 meters. It was named one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Sadly, it was damaged by earthquakes and collapsed in 1323.

First Lighthouse at Sea

Lighthouse technology remained fairly static until the great sailing age. Higher levels of traffic and improved engineering tech led to more lighthouses. In addition to marking safe harbors, they were also built as warnings farther from ports. Henry Winstanley, built the first lighthouse completely exposed to the open sea. Completed in 1698, it marked the Eddystone Rocks, a major risk for ships in the English Channel.

Golden Age

Over the next two centuries, additional technical innovations improved the lighthouse. The rediscovery of Roman concrete that set underwater, dowel and dovetail joints, and pilings secured to the seabed strengthened the structures. While it took longer, lighting sources also improved. Wood and coal gave way to the oil-powered Argand lamp. Introduced in 1784, it remained the standard for a hundred years. Eventually, it vapor-burning lamps replaced it. They remained in use until they were replaced by electric lamps in the mid-20^th century.

The introduction of consistent light from the Argand lamp spurred the deployment of lenses to focus the light. Lenses also led to the creation of revolving lighthouse beams. From the mariner’s perspective, the beams appeared to flash, which made them easier to see. The Fresnel lens, designed by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1823, quadrupled the visibility distance.

Keepers and the Modern Lighthouse

Through the mid-20^th century, lighthouses required a keeper to tend the flame, perform maintenance, and assist in rescues. These duties meant the keeper and his family lived at the lighthouse. Some were reachable by road, but many were on isolated islands a long boat ride from civilization. Electric lamps, automation, GPS, and other modern technologies eliminated the need for most keepers.

According to the Lighthouse Directory, there are more than 18,600 active lighthouses across the globe. Which brings us to our featured map courtesy of vividmaps.com.

As always thanks for reading.

Armen

Note to pay the bills:  While the Warders series doesn’t feature a globe, it does have an original world map.  If you’re interested in a James Bond-like thriller in a fantasy setting, then, check out a summary of the series here or find links to purchase books here.

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