Overview

The first known submarine was designed, but never built, by William Borne in 1578. From its early adventures (and misadventures) through the end of the twentieth century, the submarine played a vital role in both the exploration of the deep sea as well as the conquering of the globe. From the Revolutionary War to the Cold War, submarines made maritime history. In 1960 the USS Triton retraced the course of Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521) in a historic submerged circumnavigation of the globe.

Background

In 1620 Dutch inventor Cornelius van Drebbel (1572-1634) designed and constructed an oared submersible, recognized as the first submarine. By 1775, when Yale graduate David Bushnell (c. 1742-1824) built the Turtle, a one-man, human-powered...