Port Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities. With over 200 million tons of product transported annually, it has grown to be one of the world’s busiest ports. The Houston Ship Channel allows ocean-going vessels to travel between the Port and the Gulf of Mexico.
What is the story behind the sea monsters seen on so many early European maps? Their first appearance can be traced back to 10th century mappaemundi and continue through the end of the 1500s. They are depicted in various forms – swimming vigorously, gamboling amid the waves, or attacking ships – and are one of the most visually engaging elements on these maps.
The Highest Degree Tragic; The Sacrifice of the US Asiatic Fleet in the East Indies during World War II.
On December 7, 1941, Japan infamously coordinated an attack of Pearl Harbor. The next day newspapers from all across the country reported that the United States was officially at war. The allied powers ultimately claimed victory, a victory that may have not seemed possible during the first few months of 1942.
Women in the maritime industry often struggle with the challenges arising from a career in shipping. Founded in 1974, the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) is a global organization that aims to alleviate those struggles by connecting female executives and decision makers from around the world.
This powerful presentation takes place in the throes of the Texas Revolution, as the provisional government of Texas scrambled to put together a naval force to wreak havoc upon the Mexican supply lines. Having first resorted to the use of privateers (state sponsored pirates), Texas was able to borrow money in New Orleans in early 1836, to secure the warships Liberty, Invincible, Independence, and Brutus.
USS Westfield belonged to an unusual class of civilian vessels that the Navy converted during the American Civil War to serve in the Union’s blockade of Confederate southern ports. Originally built and operated as a double-ended ferryboat, the vessel was purchased by the Navy from the New York Staten Island ferry service. Westfield served as the flagship for the West Gulf Blockading Squadron’s operations along the Texas Gulf Coast.
First introduced by Washington Senator Wesley L. Jones, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 was largely intended to buffer the First World War’s shockwave to international trade and preserve the U.S. shipping industry. Effected into law by the 66th U.S. Congress on June, 5 1920, Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act, commonly referred to as the Jones Act, established coastwise-trade perimeters for domestic cabotage — the transportation of merchandise or passengers between two U.S. points.
William Geroux’s book tells the largely forgotten story of the US Merchant Marine in World War II through the adventures of merchant mariners from Mathews County, Virginia. Mathews, a rural outpost on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, has been a cradle of merchant sea captains and mariners for centuries.
Sam Houston will always be remembered for his influence on Texas history, but he was also a frontiersman and an important American political figure in the 19th century. This captivating lecture by the creator of the EMMY Award winning documentary Sam Houston: American, Statesman, Soldier, and Pioneer, will detail Sam Houston’s remarkable life including his rebellious teenage years when he ran away to live with a local Cherokee tribe, his later struggles with marriage and sobriety, and much more.
