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Often called "the father of oceanography", Matthew Maury lived a truly remarkable life. This man was an officer and one of the most well known oceanographers of all time. He is mainly remembered for his chief contribution to the field, a book called The Physical Geography of the Sea, published in 1855 and considered the first book on oceanography.

Born in 1806, it would be nineteen years before he set foot on a boat. From then on began a lifelong romance with the ocean. This is when he signed up to join the navy. He spent the next nine years after signing on making extensive cruises. In 1836 he released A New Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Navigation, which was hailed as an instant classic.

He soon suffered a knee injury that made him unfit for naval service. He retired and wrote a number of articles on naval reform that brought him public notice for the first time. He then wrote supplementary articles on naval travel methods and sailing directions. The time saved by following his methods brought him a huge amount of fame and attention. He was considered the foremost resource in the area of oceanography.

He is also noted for things like de-emphasizing astrology when predicting wave patterns and adherence to strict scientific methods set him apart from his peers and set the standard that has been followed to this day. He spent the last four years of his life as a meteorological professor in Virginia.

Matthew Fontaine Maury quite simply set the foundation for all that was to come in oceanography. He will forever be a legend in the field, and for good reason. Maury is to oceanography what Einstein was to physics.

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