Who First Mapped the Gulf Stream?

We often hear references to the Gulf Stream on weather reports because it is an important factor. We know that this body of water is responsible for making the cold west coasts of Ireland and Scotland, far more temperate. Knowledge of the Gulf Stream goes back indefinitely, the Seminole Indians of Florida knew of its existence, though they didn't know where it went or how it affected weather. And it seems common knowledge that Ben Franklin was the first to map the Gulf Stream but here we stumble in truth, here, the legend exceeds the man.

It's easy to believe Ben Franklin could, and would have mapped the Gulf Stream. He was a genius at both government and science. He invented many things including bifocals, the lightning rod, catheter, the Franklin Stove and of course he was known as the wizard of electricity! But he didn't map the Gulf Stream.

The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico. High temperatures around the equator heat the water. Earth's rotation forces this warm water to move. It first flows north along the North American continent, then turns east across the Atlantic. As it approaches Europe, the Gulf Stream turns into what's called the North Atlantic Drift current.

From about 30 to 60 degrees North latitude - an area that includes most of North America, Europe and much of Asia, prevailing winds blow from west to east, so the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland stay warmer as the winds move across them. But back to Ben and the first map of the Gulf Stream.

From August 1753 through January 1774, Benjamin Franklin held the post of deputy postmaster general of North America. It was a baffling fact then that the American postal ships could journey to England from the colonies sometimes weeks faster than the English merchant ships. The English postal authorities wondered how this could be and decided to write old Ben for his insight. Ben wasn't sure at all why this should happen and so he wrote his cousin, Timothy Folger, who was a whaling ship captain from Nantucket. Folger had no doubts as to the answer.

Captain Folger wrote Ben Franklin and drew a chart illustrating the Gulf Stream current, and its affects on ships. It seems that most American and Spanish ship captains knew about the Gulf Stream, and that it could hasten their journey to England if they stayed in the current. Franklin printed the chart and presented it and the information to the British Postal authorities. Unfortunately Folgers name was not included, but it didn't matter all that much because the Brits ignored the information anyway!

So it was Captain Timothy Folgers who made the first map of the Gulf Stream and not Franklin, but Ben did contribute some very vital information about this body of water. He became fascinated with the idea of a stream of water in an ocean and decided to study it further.

In 1775 Franklin made a journey by ship from England to the Colonies. During the trip he took the water temperature from two to four times a day. Knowing the that Gulf Stream carried warm water from south to north, he could make a more precise map of the current by mapping the temperatures. In 1776 Franklin was chosen as a commissioner to travel to France to gain support for the American Revolution. In spite of this daunting task, he again measured water temperatures to perfect his map.

Ben Franklin did not return to America until 1785 but on that trip he again took temperatures and mapped the Gulf Stream. He also made observations about the water colour and weed content and published these observations and notes about the causes of the Gulf Stream.

If you should travel to south Florida, around Palm Beach, you can stand on the shore and look out towards the horizon. You can see what looks like ripples of a river churning along headed north about a mile offshore. This is where the Gulf Stream makes its closest approach to land and is a great place to view it.

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