Matthew F. Maury

Admiral Matthew Fontane Maury (1806-1873) was an oceanographer who wrote on the ocean winds and currents. He was known as the "Pathfinder of the Seas" in the Confederate Navy. He founded the U.S. Naval Observatory and invented the torpedo.

A Virginian, he later joined the Confederate Navy and was known as the "Pathfinder of the Seas." He became commander of the navy in 1861, and secured support for the Confederacy in Britain.