Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806–73)

American naval officer, astronomer, hydrographer, and meteorologist. Superintendent of the Depot of Charts and Instruments and of the Naval Observatory, Washington, 1841. Published a series of wind and current charts with sailing instructions for all the oceans. His 1855 study, The physical geography of the sea, laid the foundation for the science of oceanography. Resigned in 1861 and was commissioned in the Confederate States Navy. Agent in Britain for the Confederate government from 1862. Professor of meteorology, Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, 1869–73.