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[[Image:A coruna torre de hercules sunset edit.jpg|upright|thumb|The [[Tower of Hercules]], a lighthouse of Roman origin at [[A Coruña]] in northwest Spain, modelled on the [[Lighthouse of Alexandria|Pharos of Alexandria]]]]
The '''History of Lighthouses''' refers to the development of the use of towers, buildings, or other types of structures as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
==Premodern era==
Before the development of clearly defined ports, mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} Since raising the fire would improve visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as an entrance marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs and promontories, unlike many modern lighthouses. Excavation at [[Kuntasi]] on the coast of India has revealed a square watch tower with a ramp which would have originally been 10–12 meters, used to guide boats coming to Kuntasi from Rann of Kutch. The possibility of it being a lighthouse cannot be ruled out.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rawat|first=Yadubirsingh|title=Coastal Sites: Possible Port Towns Of Harappan time in Gujarat|url=https://www.academia.edu/30609867|journal=Port Towns of Gujarat|date=January 2015 |language=en}}</ref> If so, the lighthouse would date from about 2000 BCE.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Parth Shastri|date=Jul 9, 2015|title=Harappan harbours of big business {{!}} Ahmedabad News - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/harappan-harbours-of-big-business/articleshow/47996575.cms|access-date=2021-10-31|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>
===Greek-Roman period===
According to [[Homer]]ic legend, [[Palamedes (mythology)|Palamedes]] of [[Nafplio]] invented the first lighthouse, although they are certainly attested with the [[Lighthouse of Alexandria]] (designed and constructed by [[Sostratus of Cnidus]]) and the [[Colossus of Rhodes]]. However, [[Themistocles]] had earlier established a lighthouse at the harbour of [[Piraeus]] connected to Athens in the 5th century BC, essentially a small stone column with a fire beacon.<ref>Elinor Dewire and Dolores Reyes-Pergioudakis (2010). ''The Lighthouses of Greece''. Sarasota: Pineapple Press. {{ISBN|978-1-56164-452-0}}, pp 1-5.</ref>
[[Lesches]], a Greek poet (''c''. 660 BC), mentions a lighthouse at [[Sigeion]] in the [[Troad]]. This appears to have been the first light regularly maintained for the guidance of mariners.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lighthouse |volume=16 |pages=627–651 |first1=W. T. |last1=Douglass |first2=N. G. |last2=Gedye}}</ref>
Written descriptions and drawings of the [[Lighthouse of Alexandria|Pharos]] of [[Alexandria]] provide information about lighthouses, but the tower itself collapsed during an earthquake many centuries after its construction in the 3rd century BC by the Greeks. The [[Tower of Hercules]] at [[A Coruña]] in Spain has a Roman core, and the ruins of the [[Dubris|Dover]] lighthouse in England give insight into its construction; other evidence about lighthouses exists in depictions on coins and mosaics, of which many represent the lighthouse at [[Ostia Antica (archaeological site)|Ostia]]. Coins from Alexandria, Ostia, and [[Latakia|Laodicea in Syria]] also exist.
While the evidence provides insight into the exterior structure of these structures, there are many gaps in the evidence concerning less visible aspects of the structures. The remains at [[A Coruña]] and [[Dover]] help determine how each lighthouse structure functioned, though one must make some assumptions to determine how the structures [[beacon]]s were illuminated. Presumably locally available fuels will have included wood and probably coal to keep a fire going continuously during the night, and there is a large chimney leading to the top room at the [[Tower of Hercules]]. The example from Dover has been converted at some stage into a simple [[bell tower]] for the adjoining church.
[[Image:DoverCastle-lighthouse-2004-10-03.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|The surviving Roman lighthouse at [[Dover Castle]] in [[Kent]], overlooking the [[English Channel]]. The [[Boulogne-sur-Mer#Origin of the city|Tour d'Ordre]], its French counterpart, fell into the sea in 1644 after 1600 years.]]
Lighthouse keepers may have added combustible liquids to reduce the expenditure on fuel and keep the light steady during [[gale]]s, but little information exists in the literature from the time. It may also be possible that the light was protected from the wind by glass windows, and large mirrors may have assisted in projecting the light beam as far as possible. It is likely that lighthouses would have required considerable labour for transporting the fuel and maintaining the flame. At [[Cape Hatteras]] in the 1870s, one keeper and two assistants kept themselves busy by tending more sophisticated flames from powerful oil lamps.
While artistic representations assist us in re-creating a visual image of lighthouses, they present many problems. Depictions of lighthouses on [[Roman coins]], [[inscriptions]], carvings, and [[mosaic]]s present an inconsistent view of the actual appearance of the structures. Most show a building with two or three stories that decreases in width as it ascends. The limited size of coins could cause the producer of the coin to alter the image to fit on the surface. The similarity in depictions of lighthouses is symbolic rather than accurate representations of specific beacons.
===Europe===
[[File:Cordouanchastillon.jpg|thumb|200px|Engraving of the [[Cordouan lighthouse]], completed in 1611]]
During the European Middle Ages, many Roman lighthouses fell into disuse. Some did remain functional, such as the Farum Brigantium, now known as the [[Tower of Hercules]], in A Coruña, Spain, and others in the Mediterranean Sea, such as the [[Lighthouse of Genoa|Lanterna]] at [[Genoa]]. As navigation improved, lighthouses gradually expanded into Western and Northern Europe.<ref name="Crompton">Crompton, Samuel, W; Rhein, Michael, J. ''The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses''. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2002. {{ISBN|1-59223-102-0}}</ref> One of the oldest working lighthouses in Europe is [[Hook Lighthouse]], located at Hook Head in County Wexford, Ireland. It was built during the Middle Ages in a sturdy, circular design.
A century later, in the [[Late Middle Ages]], a {{convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} tower was built by [[Edward the Black Prince]] at [[Cordouan lighthouse|Cordouan]] near the [[Gironde estuary]]. One hundred years later, in 1581, [[Henri III]] asked architect Louis de Foix to build a new one.<ref name="beaver">{{cite book|last=Beaver|first=Patrick|title=A History of Lighthouses|publisher=London: Peter Davies Ltd|year=1971|isbn=0-432-01290-7|page=17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Stevenson|first=D. Alan|title=The world's lighthouses before 1820|publisher=London: [[Oxford University Press]]|year=1959|pages=32–33}}</ref> Building the lighthouse took twenty-seven years and was finally completed in 1611. The tiered Cordouan symbolized French maritime power and prestige. The interior had sumptuous king's apartments, decorated pillars, and murals. Its upper level was rebuilt between 1780 and 1790, increasing the height from 49m to 60m and incorporating an [[Argand lamp]] and one of the first parabolic mirrors which was turned by clockwork developed by a clockmaker in [[Dieppe]].<ref>{{Cite rowlett|gir|access-date=Jul 15, 2015}}</ref> The tower later became the first to use the revolutionary [[Fresnel lens]], in the early 1820s.)<ref>{{cite book|last=Bathurst|first=Bella|title=The lighthouse Stevensons|publisher=New York: Perennial|year=2000|isbn=0-06-093226-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/lighthousesteven00bath/page/135 135]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/lighthousesteven00bath/page/135}}</ref>
In Britain, lighthouses were privately owned, and the right to collect dues was by warrant, either from a local authority or the crown. The abuse of these licenses led to foreign ships fearing to seek refuge on the south coast of England for fear of being boarded with demands and to the loss of a number of ships, most notably the Dutch merchant ship [[Melville Castle (1786 EIC ship)#Fate|Vreede]] in 1802 with the loss of 380 lives.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hague|first1=Douglas B|last2= Christie |first2=Rosemary|title=Lighthouses: Their Architecture, History and Archeology|year=1975|publisher=Gomer Press|___location=Dyfed, Wales|page=44}}</ref>
With the increasing number of ships lost along the [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] to London coal route, [[Trinity House]] established the [[Lowestoft Lighthouse]] in 1609, a pair of wooden towers with candle illuminants. Until the late 18th century, candle, coal, or wood fires were used as lighthouse illuminants. This was improved in 1782 with the circular-wick oil-burning [[Argand lamp]], the first ‘catoptric’ mirrored reflector in 1777, and [[Fresnel]]’s ‘dioptric’ lens system in 1823. [[Nore|The Nore]] [[Lightvessel|lightship]] was established as the world's first floating light in 1732.
After the reforms of the [[Lighthouse Act 1836]], by which Trinity House accepted powers to levy out the last private lighthouse owners and began refurbishing and upgrading its lighthouse estate, owners still managed to collect large dues, of which the largest were for the [[Smalls Lighthouse]], which collected £23,000 in 1852, and Trinity House was forced to spend over £1m in buying back leases, including £444,000 for the [[Skerries Lighthouse]].{{sfn|Hague|Christie|1975|p=47}}
==Modern lighthouses==
===Construction===
The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18th century, as lighthouse construction boomed in lockstep with burgeoning levels of [[Atlantic Ocean|transatlantic]] commerce. Advances in structural engineering and new and efficient lighting equipment allowed for the creation of larger and more powerful lighthouses, including ones exposed to the sea. The function of lighthouses shifted toward the provision of a visible warning against shipping hazards, such as rocks or reefs.
====Eddystone lighthouse====
[[File:Smeaton's Lighthouse00.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[John Smeaton]]'s rebuilt version of the [[Eddystone Lighthouse]], 1759. This represented a great step forward in lighthouse design.]]
The [[Eddystone Rocks]], an extensive reef near [[Plymouth Sound]], [[England]], and one of the major shipwreck hazards for mariners sailing through the [[English Channel]],<ref>
{{citation|first=Samuel|last=Smiles|title=The Lives of the Engineers|year=1861|volume=2|page=16|url=https://archive.org/stream/livesofengineers02smil#page/16/mode/2up}} The reef is submerged at high spring tide and was so feared by mariners that they often hugged the coast of France to avoid the danger, resulting in shipwrecks on the rocks of the north coast of France</ref> were the site of [[Eddystone Lighthouse|many technical and conceptual advances in lighthouse construction]]. The difficulty of gaining a foothold on the dangerous rocks, particularly in the predominant swell, meant that it was a long time before anyone attempted to place any warning on them.
The [[Eddystone Lighthouse#Winstanley's lighthouse|first attempt]] was an octagonal wooden structure, anchored by 12 iron stanchions secured in the rock, and built by [[Henry Winstanley]] from 1696 to 1698. The tower ultimately proved short-lived, and the [[Great Storm of 1703]] erased almost all trace of it.<ref name=edthis>{{cite web | title = Eddystone Lighthouse History | url = http://www.eddystoneeel.com/LIGHTHOUSE%20HISTORY.htm | publisher = Eddystone Tatler Ltd | access-date = 7 September 2006 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060502095435/http://www.eddystoneeel.com/LIGHTHOUSE%20HISTORY.htm | archive-date = 2 May 2006 }}</ref><ref name=bbcgrs>{{cite web | title = The Great Storm of 1703 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/1703_storm.shtml | publisher = [[BBC]] | access-date =7 September 2006 }}</ref> Following the destruction of the first lighthouse, Captain Lovett<ref>{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/sociabilitypower00whym/page/130 130] |author=Susan E. Whyman |title= Sociability and Power in Late-Stuart England: The Cultural Worlds of the .. |url=https://archive.org/details/sociabilitypower00whym |url-access=registration |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 1999 |isbn= 0199250235 }} {{ISBN|978-0199250233}}.</ref><ref name=WBName group=note>Later Colonel John Lovett (c. 1660-1710) of [[Soulbury#Liscombe Park|Liscombe Park Buckinghamshire]] and Corfe, (son and heir of former merchant in Turkey, Christopher Lovett, lord mayor of Dublin 1676-1677) and uncle of noted architect [[Edward Lovett Pearce]] 1699-1733.</ref> acquired the lease of the rock and, by [[Act of Parliament]], was allowed to charge passing ships a [[wiktionary:toll|toll]] of one penny per ton. He commissioned [[John Rudyard]] (or Rudyerd) to [[Eddystone Lighthouse#Rudyard's lighthouse|design the new lighthouse]], built as a conical wooden structure around a core of brick and concrete. A temporary light was first shone from it in 1708<ref>{{cite book|first=Fred|last=Majdalany|title=The Red Rocks of Eddystone|___location=London|publisher=Longmans|year=1959|page=86}}</ref> and the work was completed in 1709. This proved more durable, surviving until 1755, when it burnt to the ground.<ref name=palmer>{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Mike |title=Eddystone: the Finger of Light |edition=2nd|year=2005 |publisher=Seafarer Books |___location=Woodbridge, Suffolk |isbn=0-9547062-0-X }}</ref>
The [[civil engineer]], [[John Smeaton]], rebuilt the [[Smeaton's Tower|lighthouse]] from 1756–59;<ref name="MAJ">Majdalany, Fred: ''The Eddystone Light''. 1960</ref> his tower marked a major step forward in the design of lighthouses and remained in use until 1877. He modelled the shape of his lighthouse on that of an oak tree, using granite blocks. He pioneered the use of "[[hydraulic lime]]," a form of concrete that will set under water, and developed a technique of securing the granite blocks together using [[dovetail joint]]s and marble [[dowels]].<ref name="TRI">{{cite web|url=http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/eddystone.html |title=Eddystone - Gallery |publisher=Trinity House |access-date=2010-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909043743/http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/eddystone.html |archive-date=2006-09-09 }}</ref> The dovetailing feature served to improve the [[structural stability]], although Smeaton also had to taper the thickness of the tower towards the top, for which he curved the tower inwards on a gentle gradient. This profile had the added advantage of allowing some of the energy of the waves to dissipate on impact with the walls.
Construction started at a site in [[Millbay]] where Smeaton built a jetty and workyard in the south-west corner of the harbour for unloading and working the stone. Timber rails of 3 ft. 6 in. gauge were laid for the four-wheeled flat trucks on which the masonry was moved around the site. A ten-ton ship, named the ''Eddystone Boat'', was based here and took the worked stones out to the reef.<ref name="MD">{{Cite book|last=Langley|first=Martin|title=Millbay Docks (Port of Plymouth series)|publisher=Devon Books|___location=Exeter|year=1987|pages= 1, 3|isbn=0-86114-806-1}}</ref> The lighthouse was {{convert|72|ft|m}} high and had a diameter at the base of {{convert|26|ft|m}} and at the top of {{convert|17|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite book|title=Minutes of proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers|chapter=Note on the Eddystone Lighthouse|author=Douglass, James Nicholas|___location=London|publisher=Institution of Civil Engineers|year=1878|volume=53, part 3|pages=247–248|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cx4AAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA247}}</ref>
====Further development====
[[File:Bell Rock Lighthouse.jpg|thumb|260px|[[Bell Rock Lighthouse]] off the east coast of Scotland, constructed on a dangerous rock submerged at most states of the tide]]
Scottish engineer [[Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)|Robert Stevenson]] was a seminal figure in the development of lighthouse design and construction in the first half of the 19th century.<ref name="NLB">{{cite web|url=http://www.nlb.org.uk/HistoricalInformation/StevensonEngineers/Robert-Stevenson/|title=NLB - Robert Stevenson|access-date=January 28, 2013}}</ref> In 1797, he was appointed engineer to the newly formed [[Northern Lighthouse Board]], the [[general lighthouse authority|lighthouse authority]] for [[Scotland]] and the [[Isle of Man]]. His greatest achievement was the construction of the [[Bell Rock Lighthouse]] in 1810, one of the most impressive feats of engineering of the age. This structure was based upon the design of the earlier Eddystone Lighthouse by [[John Smeaton]], but with several improved features, such as the incorporation of rotating lights alternating between red and white.<ref>{{citation|title=John Rennie, 1761–1821: The Life and Work of a Great Engineer|first=Cyril Thomas Goodman|last=Boucher|page=61|year=1963|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wu8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA59}}</ref>
Stevenson worked for the [[Northern Lighthouse Board]] for nearly fifty years<ref name="NLB" /> during which time he designed and oversaw the construction and later improvement of numerous lighthouses. He innovated in the choice of light sources, mountings, reflector design, the use of [[Fresnel lens]]es, and in rotation and shuttering systems, providing lighthouses with individual signatures, allowing them to be identified by seafarers. He also invented the movable jib and the balance crane as necessary parts for lighthouse construction.
Stevenson established a great dynasty of engineers specializing in lighthouse construction; his descendants were responsible for most of the lighthouse construction in [[Scotland]] for a century. Three of Robert's sons followed in his path: [[David Stevenson (engineer)|David]], [[Alan Stevenson|Alan]], and [[Thomas Stevenson|Thomas]]. Two of David's children, [[David Alan Stevenson|David Alan]] and [[Charles Alexander Stevenson|Charles Alexander]], also became distinguished lighthouse engineers in their own right.
[[Alexander Mitchell (engineer)|Alexander Mitchell]] designed the first [[screw-pile lighthouse]]; his lighthouse was built on piles that were [[screw]]ed into the sandy or muddy seabed. Construction of his design began in 1838 at the mouth of the [[Thames]] and was known as the [[Maplin Sands]] lighthouse, which was first lit in 1841.<ref name=Tomlinson>{{cite book|title=Tomlinson's Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts|year=1852–54|publisher=Virtue & Co.|___location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/cyclopdiaofuse02tomlrich/page/177 177]|editor=Tomlinson|url=https://archive.org/details/cyclopdiaofuse02tomlrich|quote="[Maplin Sands] was not, however, the first screw-pile lighthouse actually erected, for during the long preparation process which was carried on at Maplin Sands, a structure of the same principle had been begun and completed at Port Fleetwood..."}}</ref> However, though its construction began later, the [[Wyre Light (Fleetwood)|Wyre Light]] in Fleetwood, Lancashire, was the first to be lit (in 1840).<ref name=Tomlinson />
[[File:Cuba 2013-02-01 (8624177322).jpg|thumb|The first lighthouse in América was built in the [[Castillo de los Tres Reyes Del Morro|Three Kings of Morro fortress]] in Havana in the 17th century. The current lighthouse dates from [[Faro del Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro|1845.]]]]
====Lighthouses in America====
The first lighthouse in America was the 17th century lighthouse and watchtower of the [[Castillo de los Tres Reyes Del Morro|Three Kings of Morro]] fortress in [[Havana]], the most important port of the Caribbean and intensely used for the twice a year [[Spanish treasure fleet]] voyages to and from Spain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=El Faro del Castillo del Morro, símbolo universal de La Habana |url=https://www.radiohc.cu/de-interes/caleidoscopio/164991-el-faro-del-castillo-del-morro-simbolo-universal-de-la-habana |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=www.radiohc.cu |language=es}}</ref> The first lighthouse in today´s United States was the [[Boston Light]], built in 1716 at [[Boston Harbor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/legendarylighthouses/ |title=Legendary Lighthouses |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=2011-04-05}}</ref> Lighthouses were soon built along the marshy coast lines from [[Delaware]] to [[North Carolina]], where navigation was difficult and treacherous.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/legendarylighthouses/html/natlgeo.html |title=Legendary Lighthouses: Geography-North Atlantic |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=2011-04-05}}</ref> These were generally made of wood, as it was readily available. Due to the fire hazard, masonry towers were increasingly built - the oldest standing masonry tower was [[Sandy Hook Lighthouse]], built in 1764 in [[New Jersey]].
Screw-pile lighthouses were used in [[Chesapeake Bay]] and along the [[The Carolinas|Carolina]] coast in the [[United States]]. The first screw pile light in the United States was Brandywine Shoal in Delaware Bay. They became especially popular after the Civil War, when the Lighthouse Board approved a policy to replace lighthouses in the interior. Around 100 of these complex structures were built on the Atlantic coast line from the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays down to the Florida Keys and Gulf of Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/constype/screw.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626204234/http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/constype/screw.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 26, 2007 |title=Lighthouse Construction Types |publisher=Nps.gov |date=2004-01-23 |access-date=2011-04-05}}</ref> One of the most famous towers was the [[Thomas Point Shoal Light]]; it has been called “the finest example of a screw pile cottage anywhere in the world.”<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/legendarylighthouses/html/natlgl.html |title=Legendary Lighthouses: Great Lighthouses-North Atlantic |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=2011-04-05}}</ref>
Another historic lighthouse in America is the [[San Juan de Ulúa|San Juan de Ulúa fortress]] Veracruz lighthouse (1790), which was the first modern lighthouse in the American [[Spanish Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lugares INAH - Baluarte de San Pedro y su Torre |url=https://lugares.inah.gob.mx/es/museos-inah/museo/museo-espacios/10884-140-5-baluarte-de-san-pedro-y-su-torre.html?lugar_id=7597 |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=lugares.inah.gob.mx}}</ref>
On March 3, 1851, the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] passed ''"An Act Making Appropriations for Light House, Light Boats, Buoys, &c."'', leading to the creation of the [[United States Lighthouse Board]] to replace the [[United States Department of Treasury|Department of Treasury]]'s Lighthouse Establishment as the governmental agency responsible for the construction and maintenance of all [[lighthouse]]s and navigation aids in the [[United States]].
Most recently, new high-power LED technology has started to replace the old rotating systems. Modern lighthouses need no moving parts, simply a computer controlled electronic oscillator. In simple terms, we could call it a Strobe light.
===Lighting improvements===
[[File:Verre du bec d'Argand.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Argand lamp]] with circular wick and glass chimney. <small>(Illustration from ''Les Merveilles de la science'' [1867-1869] by [[Louis Figuier]]).</small>]]
The source of illumination had generally been wood pyres or burning coal, but this was expensive; some lighthouses consumed 400 tons of coal a year. Candles or oil lamps backed by concave mirrors were used, often in large banks. The French conducted a series of tests between 1783 and 1788, with varying results. Smeaton's Eddystone lighthouse used 24 candles until 1810.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stevenson|first=D Alan|title=The World's Lighthouses before 1820|year=1959|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>
The [[Argand lamp]], invented in 1782 by the Swiss scientist [[Aimé Argand]], revolutionized lighthouse illumination with its steady, smokeless flame. The Argand lamp had a sleeve-shaped [[candle wick]] mounted so that air could pass both through the center of the wick and also around the outside of the wick before being drawn into a cylindrical chimney. This steadied the flame and improved the flow of air. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johnmoncrieff.co.uk/shop-2/products.php?cat=32 |title=Lamp Glass Replacement Glass Lamp Shades, Oil Lamp Shades, Oil Lamp Chimneys, Oil Lamp Spares |access-date=2014-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106160403/http://www.johnmoncrieff.co.uk/shop-2/products.php?cat=32 |archive-date=2014-01-06 }}</ref> The Argand lamp used [[whale oil]], [[colza]], [[olive oil]]<ref>"Lamp." ''Encyclopædia Britannica: or, a dictionary of Arts, Science, and Miscellaneous Literature.'' 6th ed. 1823 [https://books.google.com/books?id=T8wnAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22argand+lamp%22+%22olive+oil%22&pg=PA505 Web.] 5 Dec. 2011</ref> 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.
[[John Richardson Wigham]] was the first to develop a system for the [[coal gas|gas]] illumination of lighthouses. He was given a grant by the Dublin Ballast Board in 1865, and he fitted his new gas 'crocus' burner at the [[Baily Lighthouse]] in [[Howth Head]],<ref group=note>The 'crocus' burner was important in that it established the superiority of gas over oil, however Wigham replaced the 'crocus' design with his 'composite' burner</ref> giving an output 4 times more powerful than the equivalent oil lights. An improved 'composite' design, installed in the Baily light in 1868, was 13 times more powerful than the most brilliant light then known, according to the scientist [[John Tyndall]], an advisor to the [[United Kingdom]]'s lighthouse authority, [[Trinity House]].<ref name=cil>{{cite journal| title=John Richardson Wigham 1829–1906 | url=http://www.commissionersofirishlights.com/media/35546/Beam_2006.PDF#page=23 | publisher=Commissioners of Irish Lights | journal=BEAM | volume=35 |date=July 2006| pages=21–22}}</ref>
In 1870, the light at [[Wicklow Head]] was fitted with Wigham's [[patent]] intermittent flashing mechanism, which timed the gas supply by means of [[clockwork]].<ref name="cil"/> When this mechanism was combined with a revolving [[Fresnel lens|lens]] in [[Rockabill]] Lighthouse, the world's first lighthouse with a [[Flashing light|group-flashing]] [[Light characteristic|characteristic]] was produced.
[[File:Dalen fyr 2007 l.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The AGA lighthouse "Blockhusudden", set up in 1912, used the [[Dalén light]] invented in 1906.]]
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 an illuminant became widely available with the invention of the [[Dalén light]] by Swedish engineer, [[Gustaf Dalén]]. In 1906, Dalén became the chief engineer at the [[AGA AB|Gas Accumulator Company]]. Initially, Dalén worked with [[acetylene]], an extremely explosive [[hydrocarbon]] gas. Dalén invented [[Agamassan]] (Aga), a [[Substrate (materials science)|substrate]] used to absorb the gas, allowing safe storage and hence commercial exploitation. Acetylene produced an ultra-bright white light and immediately superseded the duller-flamed [[Liquefied petroleum gas|LPG]] as the fuel of choice in lighthouse illuminations. Dalén incorporated another invention into his light: the '[[sun valve]]'. This device allowed the light to operate only at night, conserving fuel and extending its service life to over a year.
The AGA lighthouse equipment worked without any type of electric supply and was thus extremely reliable. In a rugged coastal area like [[Scandinavia]], his mass-produced, robust, minimal maintenance lights were a significant boon to safety and livelihood. AGA Lighthouses covered the entire [[Panama Canal]]. The technology was the predominant form of light source in [[lighthouses]] from the 1900s through the 1960s, when electric lighting had become dominant.
The first electrically illuminated lighthouse was the tower at [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]], [[Kent]], in 1862. It was powered by a large [[carbon arc lamp]], although it was later converted back to [[oil]], as the arc lamps were difficult to operate (needing twice the number of keepers) and were not as cost-effective as oil lamps.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses/lighthouse_list/dungeness.html|title=Dungeness|access-date=2012-12-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017043302/http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses/lighthouse_list/dungeness.html|archive-date=2012-10-17}}</ref> [[South Foreland Lighthouse]] was the first tower to successfully use an electric light in 1875. The lighthouse's [[arc lamp|carbon arc lamps]] were powered by a steam-driven [[magneto (generator)|magneto]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Baird |first=Spencer Fullerton|title=Annual record of science and industry |url=https://archive.org/details/annualrecordofsc1876bair |publisher=Harper & Brothers|___location=New York|year=1876|pages=[https://archive.org/details/annualrecordofsc1876bair/page/460 460]}}</ref>
===Optics===
[[File:Fresnel lighthouse lens diagram.png|thumb|right|Diagram depicting how a spherical [[Fresnel lens]] collimates light.]]
With the development of the steady illumination of the Argand lamp, the application of optical lenses to increase and focus the light intensity became a practical possibility. [[William Hutchinson (privateer)|William Hutchinson]] developed the first practical optical system in 1763, known as a [[catoptrics|catoptric]] system. He constructed paraboloidal reflectors by attaching small pieces of reflective material to a cast that had been moulded into an approximate paraboloid. This rudimentary system effectively collimated the emitted light into a concentrated beam, thereby greatly increasing the light's visibility. His system was installed in the newly built [[Leasowe#Leasowe Lighthouse|Leasowe Lighthouse]] near [[Liverpool]] and was later copied elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/340721/lighthouse/72152/Oil-lamps|title=Lighthouse|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2014-01-06}}</ref> The ability to focus the light led to the first revolving lighthouse beams, where the light would appear to the mariners as a series of intermittent flashes. It also became possible to transmit complex signals using light flashes.
The idea of creating a thinner, lighter lens by making it with separate sections mounted in a frame is often attributed to [[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9035385 |title=Fresnel lens |work=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |year=2012 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc |access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref> The [[marquis de Condorcet]] (1743–1794) proposed grinding such a lens from a single thin piece of glass.<ref>{{cite journal| title =Fresnel lens |journal=Appleton's Dictionary of Machines, Mechanics, Engine-work, and Engineering|volume=2 |___location=New York |year=1874|page=609 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ti9VAAAAMAAJ&q=fresnel+lens+burning+buffon+condorcet&pg=PA609 |publisher=D. Appleton and Co|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref>
However, it was the French physicist and engineer [[Augustin-Jean Fresnel]] who is credited with the development of the multi-part [[Fresnel lens]] for use in lighthouses. His design allowed for the construction of lenses of large [[aperture]] and short [[focal length]], without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design. A Fresnel lens can be made much thinner than a comparable conventional lens, in some cases taking the form of a flat sheet. A Fresnel lens can also capture more oblique light from a light source, thus allowing the light from a lighthouse equipped with one to be visible over greater distances.
The first Fresnel lens was used in 1823 in the [[Cordouan Lighthouse]] at the mouth of the [[Gironde estuary]] in France; its light could be seen from more than {{convert|20|mi|km}} out.<ref>Watson, Bruce. "Science Makes a Better Lighthouse Lens." ''Smithsonian''. August 1999 v30 i5 p30.
produced in ''Biography Resource Center''. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005.</ref> Scottish physicist Sir [[David Brewster]] is credited with convincing the British authorities to adopt these lenses in their lighthouses.<ref>[http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9016395 "Brewster, Sir David."] ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2005. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 11 November 2005.</ref><ref>"David Brewster." ''World of Invention'', 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center''. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005.</ref> Fresnel's invention increased the [[luminosity]] of the lighthouse lamp by a factor of 4 and his system is still in common use.
==See also==
* [[Roman
==Notes==
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==References==
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{{Lighthouses}}
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[[Category:History of buildings and structures|Lighthouses]]
[[Category:History of water transport|Lighthouses]]
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