Lighthouses Come Under the Spotlight

This weekend is International Lighthouse Heritage Weekend in Europe. The event aims to raise the profile of lighthouses, lightvessels and other navigational aids, promoting our maritime heritage.

Many lighthouses and places of associated interest will be open to the public, and there will be special events at lighthouses and lightvessels.

In 1993 International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend was founded by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group with the aim of radio operators transmitting from lighthouses around the globe.  This is coordinated and promoted via www.illw.net. 

The list of lighthouses participating in the event can be found here.

History of Illumination

The original source of illumination was wood pyres or burning coal. The Argand lamp, invented in 1782 by the Swiss scientist, Aimé Argand, revolutionized lighthouse illumination with its steady smokeless flame. Early models used ground glass which was sometimes tinted around the wick. Later models used a mantle of thorium dioxide suspended over the flame, creating a bright, steady light. The Argand lamp used whale oil, colza, olive oil or other vegetable oil as fuel which was supplied by a gravity feed from a reservoir mounted above the burner. The lamp was first produced by Matthew Boulton, in partnership with Argand, in 1784 and became the standard for lighthouses for over a century.

South Foreland Lighthouse was the first tower to successfully use an electric light in 1875. The lighthouse's carbon arc lamps were powered by a steam-driven magneto. John Richardson Wigham was the first to develop a system for gas illumination of lighthouses. His improved gas 'crocus' burner at the Baily Lighthouse was 13 times more powerful than the most brilliant light then known.

The vaporized oil burner was invented in 1901 by Arthur Kitson, and improved by David Hood at Trinity House. The fuel was vaporized at high pressure and burned to heat the mantle, giving an output of over six times the luminosity of traditional oil lights. The use of gas as illuminant became widely available with the invention of the Dalén light by Swedish engineer, Gustaf Dalén. He used Agamassan (Aga), a substrate, to absorb the gas allowing safe storage and hence commercial exploitation. Dalén also invented the sun valve, which automatically regulated the light and turned it off during the daytime. The technology was the predominant form of light source in lighthouses from the 1900s through the 1960s, when electric lighting had become dominant.

Lighthouse keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning lenses and windows. Electrification and other automated improvements such as remote monitoring and automatic bulb changing made paid keepers resident at the lights unnecessary. The earliest record of a named individual in a formal capacity as a lighthouse keeper was William, a member of the now famous Knott family, who was appointed to the South Foreland lighthouse near Dover, Kent, UK in 1730.

Some Lighthouse Facts

The first lighthouse was Egypt’s Pharos of Alexandria which was built in about 280 BC. It was a fire on a platform which stood about 350 feet tall. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1300s.

The world’s oldest existing lighthouse is considered to be Tower of Hercules, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that marks the entrance of Spain’s La Coruña harbor. The lighthouse, which was erected in the first century, is still operational.

The U.S. is home to more lighthouses than any other country.

Lighthouse keeping was one of the first U.S. government jobs available to women back in the 19th century.

The first lighthouse in what is now the United States was built on Little Brewster Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor in 1716. The British blew it up in 1776. The replacement tower, dating to 1783, still functions as a navigation aid. Known as Boston Harbor Light, it is the only U.S. lighthouse that is still manned.

The first U.S. lighthouse to use electricity is also the world’s most famous lighthouse: the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. From its opening in 1886 until its deactivation as a lighthouse in 1902, its torch carried an electric light that was visible for 24 miles.

Marcus Aurelius Hanna (November 3, 1842 – December 21, 1921) was an American lighthouse keeper famous for his heroism. He is the only person in history to have received both the Medal of Honor and the Gold Lifesaving Medal. Hanna was appointed keeper of the Pemaquid Point Light in 1869. In 1873 he was transferred to Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth, where he served as head lightkeeper. It was there, on January 28, 1885, that he risked his life to save two sailors from the schooner Australia which had wrecked on the rocks below the station. According to the official Coast Guard website, Hanna braved a blizzard in freezing temperatures, at the risk of his life, to throw a line to the ship which was being battered against the rocks. He successfully got both sailors off the ship and brought them to the nearby fog signal house where the sailors were able to be warmed to save them from exposure and frostbite.

To recognize the role of lighthouse keepers in maritime safety, the U.S. Coast Guard named a class of 175-foot (53m) coastal buoy tenders after famous U.S. lighthouse keepers. Fourteen ships in the class were built between 1996 and 2000.

Picture credit: David Taylor