Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury

Maury Elementary School is named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, a famous Naval oceanographer and navigator born in Virginia in 1806. He was called the "Pathfinder of the Seas." He systematically studied the ocean and compiled data from ships' sailing charts. He charted the seas, including the bottom of the ocean, and made charts of the ocean's winds and currents. He encouraged the development of international weather reports and forecasts. Maury was instrumental in laying the first successful trans-Atlantic cable in 1858. He died in 1873.