Summary A small portion of many photos of Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury's "Pathfinder of the Seas" monument on Monument Avenue that I photographed when I lived in Richmond, Virginia. This monument is on the west end of Monument Avenue. Matthew Fontaine Maury faces EAST towards the Atlantic that he charted both beneath the surface and on the surface. Placed here exclusively for Wikipedia.

Specifics about image. Beside Maury's left foot is the Holy Bible that he lived by daily. Also, there is his book, Physical Geography of the Sea with the Bible.

Maury's book is the 1st modern oceanography book that was constantly updated and went through several editions. It has been translated into more than 18 languages. Because it is the first fully detailed (with color plates) Maury came to be called both "Father of Oceanography" but also "Father of Modern Oceanograpgy" and Naval Meteorology."

M.F.Maury holds his "Wind and Current" charts he created in his left hand and a pen and compass in his right hand.

The Bible, the U S Navy, his country and family were the things that were M F Maury's very lifeforce. Being in the Navy he was fiercely pro-Navy and didn't care to have civilians in any navy position. He dearly loved the Navy, Oceans, Stars and Seas. It should be remembered that he was also 1st superintendent of the National (Naval) Observatory and Charted the stars every night. He wrote in an easy and often florid fashion that was easy and interesting to read. A casual reading of sometimes complex scientific discoveries which helped his work to continue as the average person could understand and become fascinated with what Maury wrote. It was the same as a dull textbook vs an exciting textbook of life and of God for he rarely wrote without prose, Scriptures, and ancient things included as examples of the modern and complicated discoveries.

I will also have the complete Physical Geography of the Sea (1855) available as soon as I can.

Update: This book mentioned above is now on Wikisource.

It is worth the reading and learning. I, myself, learned far more than I ever expected from it and especially when I looked up people, places, and things M F Maury wrote about on internet, and especially when I used Wikipedia and WikiSource -- thus partially the reason I am trying to assist with making a couple of the several "Wiki" areas as best as I can.

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