submarine

Meet John P. Holland, photographed emerging from the hatch of his invention, the USS Holland submarine. Born on the Irish coast in 1841, he had a fascination with both science and sea travel. At a young age, he became convinced that underwater vehicles could be useful in naval warfare. He developed his first draft for a submarine design in 1859. He later moved to the United States and submitted his design to the US Navy, which initially rejected it as a "fantastic scheme of a civilian landsman." Undaunted and supported by funds from the Fenian Movement, a secret revolutionary society organized in Ireland and the United States to achieve Irish independence from England, John continued his efforts. He eventually launched his first submarine - the Holland Number 1 - in 1877 on the Passaic River in New Jersey. Only 14 feet long and powered by a 4 horsepower engine, this model made several successful dives. He went on to produce larger versions with modifications and revisions. Early in 1900 the U.S. Navy purchased the Holland Number 6 for $150,000 and on October 12, 1900 commissioned it-- the first United States Navy submarine. Holland died in 1914 with little recognition for his work, but is now widely recognized as the inventor of the modern submarine.