Lighthouse Timeline
Lighthouses in Time
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247 BCThe Lighthouse of Alexandria—also known as the Pharos of Alexandria—is completed in Egypt. Standing approximately 400 feet above the harbor, it was for hundreds of years the world‘s tallest man-made structure. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Image Attribution: Public Domain |
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c. 100 ADThe Tower of Hercules is constructed on the Atlantic Ocean by the Romans in Gaul (present-day Spain). Rebuilt in 1791, it has been in constant use for more than 1900 years and is the world’s oldest functioning lighthouse. For more information on the Tower of Hercules. Image Attribution: Alessio Damato |
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1514King Henry VIII of England establishes Trinity House. The organization’s responsibilities include the construction and maintenance of lighthouses. Trinity House continues to serve this purpose nearly 500 years later. For more information on Trinity House. Image Attribution: Public Domain. PD-US |
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1669The Landsort Light in Sweden is the earliest known lighthouse to use a reflector to amplify the strength of its signal light. Image Attribution: Koster |
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1716The Boston Light is constructed on Little Brewster island. It is the first lighthouse built in what would become the United States. For more information on the Boston Light, see below. Image Attribution: Dpbsmith at the English language Wikipedia |
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1756The first heavy masonry lighthouse is built in Eddystone, England. John Smeaton’s design paves the way for the construction of lighthouses on exposed coasts, submerged reefs and rocky outcroppings. For more information on the Eddystone Lighthous, see below. Image Author: Public Domain |
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1757The Korso Lighthouse in Sweden, designed by architect Carl Harleman, is the first to use a flashing beam of light. Image Author: Public Domain |
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1757Benjamin Franklin is among the passengers on a ship the wrecks off the coast of England. In a letter to his wife, Deborah, Franklin joked that were he a religious man, he would have erected a “chapel to some saint; but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a lighthouse.” Image Author: Photographic reproduction of a painting by: Joseph Siffred Duplessi. Public Domain. PD-US |
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1775The Smalls Rock Lighthouse—the most remote operated by Trinity House—is the first lighthouse to be built on oak pillars, or “piles.” Some years later its designer, Henry Whiteside, was rescued from Smalls Rock after sending a message in a bottle asking for help. For more information on the Small Rock Lighthouse, see below. Image Author: Geni. Permission: GFDL CC-BY-SA. Replica of lighthouse. |
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1789Congress places all U.S. lighthouses under federal control, creating the United States Lighthouse Service. Alexander Hamilton is put in charge of the new agency. For more on information on the U.S. Lighthouse Service, see below. Image Author: Permission PD-USGOV. |
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1781The Marstrand Lighthouse in Sweden is the first to employ a revolving light. |
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1781Swiss physicist Francois-Pierre-Ami Argand invents a new way to illuminate lighthouses. The Argand Lamp burned 5–10 times brighter than traditional candles, and was cleaner and cheaper to operate. Image Author: Public Domain. PD-US |
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1812Congress purchases the patent for the Argand Lamp. By depending on this technology for several decades, the United States falls far behind in lighthouse technology. Portrait of James Peale by Charles Willson Peale (1748-1827)
The oil lamp is an Argand lamp. Public Domain. PD-US |
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1820The first U.S. lightship, a small wooden schooner, anchors off the coast of Virginia in Chesapeake Bay. Three years later, the first U.S. lightship in unprotected waters anchored in the Atlantic Ocean off Sandy hook. Lightships provided a beacon in places where soft or muddy bottoms could not support traditional lighthouse construction. For more information on Lightships in the U.S., see below. Image of: Light Ship #51 at Sandy Hook, c.1890-99. Photograph by New York maritime photographer John S. Johnston (c1839 - 1899). Public Domain. |
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1821France‘s Commissioner of Lighthouses Augustin Fresnel introduces his groundbreaking Fresnel lens. His experiments in the science of wave optics enabled him to create a lens that replaced mirrors in lighthouses. For more information on Augustin Fresnel, see below. Image Author: Public Domain. |
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1823The first Fresnel lens is installed in the Cordouan Lighthouse in France. For more information on the Cordouan Lighthouse click HERE. For more information on the Fresnel Lens, see below. Image Author: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. |
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1828The Twin Lights are constructed from split bluestone atop the Navesink Highlands. The Twin Lights were designed by Connecticut architect Charles H. Smith, who was instructed to “well and faithfully construct, erect, build, and in every respect completely finish two lighthouses and a dwelling house...on the Highlands of Navesink.” The towers—approximately 40 feet in height—will stand for 34 years before being replaced by the current structure. Image Author: Twin Lights Archives |
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1838The Maplin Sands Lighthouse, built at the mouth of England’s Thames River, is the first screw-pile lighthouse. The screw-pile construction system, invented in 1830 by a blind Irish engineer named Alexander Mitchell, enabled lighthouses to be built on the bottoms of lakes, rivers and other large bodies of water. In many instances, screw-pile lighthouses replaced light ships. For more information on screw-pile lighthouse construction see below. Image Author: Public Domain. |
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1841A pair of Fresnel lenses—the first ever in the United States—are installed at the Twin Lights. Three years earlier, Commodore Matthew Perry was dispatched by Congress to study European lighthouses. The Fresnel lenses were the result of that voyage. For more information on Commodore Perry see below. Image Author: Mathew Brady (1823–1896). Public Domain. |
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1852Congress receives a report on the nation’s lighthouses that is highly critical. The Twin Lights—in desperate need of repair—is actually singled out as the best in the nation. The result of this report is the formation of the U.S. Lighthouse Board. One of their first acts is to order a rebuilding of the Navesink Light Station. |
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1862The first lighthouses are illuminated using electricity, thanks to the steam-powered magneto-electric generator, perfected in 1853 by British scientist F.H. Holmes. This generator made it possible to use powerful electric arc lamps in lighthouses where the standard oil lamps were deemed inadequate. The generators needed to create this high voltage weighed several tons. For more information on the magento-electric generator see below. Image Author: Public Domain. |
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1885The Trotter-Lindberg petroleum spirit light, invented in Sweden, is in use on both sides of the Atlantic. The automated light does not require daily attention by a keeper. The Trotter-Lindberg system used petroleum spirit or lythene—contained in cisterns placed outside the lantern—which were refilled every week or two. |
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1886An arc light is installed in the Statue of Liberty, making it the first U.S. “lighthouse” illuminated in this manner. For more information on the Statue of Liberty see below. Image Author: Elcobbola. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. |
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1896By order of President Grover Cleveland, lighthouse keepers are considered federal civil servants. For more information on Grover Cleveland click below. Image Author: Public Domain. |
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1898An electric arc lamp is installed in the South Tower of the Twin Lights, powered by an on-site generator. It is the only on-shore lighthouse in the U.S. with its own generator. |
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1904The Nantucket Lightship becomes the first in the U.S. to be equipped with radio communication. |
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1928The first automated radio beacons are installed in U.S. lighthouses. |
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1939The Lighthouse Bureau officially becomes a part of the U.S. Coast Guard. |
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1942Long Range Navigation (aka LORAN) technology comes on line, rendering traditional lighthouses all but obsolete. For more information on LORAN click HERE Image Author: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. |
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1949The Twin Lights join the ranks of hundreds of other American lighthouses when it is decommissioned by the government. Image Author: Twin Lights Archives. |
