Maritime History on the Internet

This resource list for maritime history includes links to online databases, museums, and other educational websites. So whether you are researching piracy, military vessels, famous explorers, or would simply like a general overview of maritime history, there is something here to help.

Researching Ships

• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Over 10,000 entries for naval ships are listed on this military site. Search by the first letter of the ship's name to read an encyclopedia style summary. 

• Merchant Vessels of the United States: This list, from 1897, documents the commercial and military ships of the United States. This was the 29th annual list of its kind, so other years should be available as well.

• Naming Ships: Learn some of the common conventions for naming ships in the military. All kinds of vessels, from aircraft carriers to tugboats, are touched upon.

• Ship Index: On this site you can search by ship name, and browse through over a hundred thousand entries. Search results vary from the names of books and journals, to online sources.  

• Ships: A list, with pictures, of different kinds of pirate ships. There is a great diagram of one ship with all the different jibs and sails labeled. This site also has other information about piracy, including famous pirates, weapons, and treasure.

Researching People

• Biographies of Explorers and Associated People: This alphabetical list includes, but is not limited to, explorers who traveled by sea, and covers several thousand years. Click on the link at the end of each entry for a more thorough biography. 

• Cartographers: Learn how these famous mapmakers helped revolutionize sea travel. This list mainly focuses on the 1500s through the 1800s.

• Famous Pirates: This site gives a brief timeline of famous pirates throughout history. There is also a link to pages about famous women pirates, pirate ships, and the pirate code of conduct, just to name a few.

• National Maritime Hall of Fame: The American Merchant Marine Museum hosts this very specific hall of fame, dedicated to famous mariners and their ships. This is the only such permanent exhibit in the country. Their site has a brief list of Hall of Fame members, as well as their ships.

• Naval Biographies: This is a very thorough list of U.S. Naval officers throughout history. The articles are often extensive, and there are great pictures.  

Libraries and Databases

• Australian National Shipwreck Database: Curious about the fates of less fortunate ships? Search this online database by name, year, or location to learn more about Australian shipwrecks and recovered relics.

• Great Lakes Maritime History Project: This digital library, from the University of Wisconsin, focuses on the maritime history of the Great Lakes region. Do a keyword search through their collection, or take a look at their list of other helpful research links.

• National Maritime Digital Library: This library includes a general maritime search engine, as well as a database of offshore whaling voyages. This whaling list is indexed alphabetically, and includes the date and place each ship was built for easy reference.

• Neptune's Needle: This online database of maritime history is hosted by Barnard College. Either type key words into a search engine, or use the scroll down menu to look under different categories including people, vessels and bodies of water.

• NOAA: Search through the United States Coast Guard's vessel data base. Just type in the ship's name, or the USCG official number.

Museums

• National Maritime Museum: Even if you can't go to England to visit this museum in person, their website has a ton of valuable information. Learn about explorers, pirates, ships, and a changing selection of featured historical articles.

• Maritime Museum of San Diego: This website is very interactive. You can click on several famous ships for more information and pictures, and they have an archive of maritime heritage documents. 

• Maritime Museum of the Atlantic: This Canadian site offers some valuable research tips, and a list of frequently asked research questions and answers. They also have a fairly comprehensive list of research links, both from Canada and International.

• New Jersey Maritime Museum: Scroll down the helpful sidebar for some great articles and pictures. There is also a touching memorial page for some seafarers who have crossed the bar.

• North Caroline Maritime Museums: Three different museums, each from North Carolina, are linked from this site. Beaufort and Hatteras have some great articles posted, but Southport will be closed until Spring 2011.