About the Author

William Henry Smyth (1788-1865) devoted most of his naval career to surveying, and the results, often carried out in collaboration with French, Austrian and Neapolitan surveyors, were highly acclaimed. He was a Fellow and, later, President (1849-51) of the Royal Geographical Society. In 1858 he began to assemble the Sailor's Word-Book from material amassed during his long career. Although he completed the work, he died before he saw its publication.