Welcome to the 12 Explorers Project presented by Christopher Newport University’s Public History Center. The human connection to the sea has been recorded since the earliest of times. Throughout history, the ocean has been a critical resource, leading many to navigate and travel on it, and explore its depths. Our purpose is to showcase 12 explorers who represent a part of maritime history, culture, and innovation around the world. Journey with us as we travel back in time and learn how the water brings us together in this global age.
12 Explorers has several components, including three physical exhibitions at Christopher Newport University, a number of events and lectures during Fall 2017, and this website, featuring 12 virtual exhibits and digitized and transcribed archives from the Letters Home Collection from The Mariners’ Museum Library, some of which have been read and recorded by U.S. military veterans.
Join us and explore the significance of our maritime heritage and its impact on the future.
The 12 Explorers project was inspired by a National Maritime Heritage Grant by the National Park Service, awarded to CNU’s Public History Center in 2016.
To our Public History Center Fellows, Emily Brown (’18), Dyllan Cecil (’17), Michael Deets (’17), Michaela Felter (’17), Catarina Izzi (’18), Melissa Jones (’18), Nicole Lichty (’17), Sarah Danielle Moore (’17), Carter Stewart (’18), Joshua Chase Thomas (’16), Katherine Warakomski (’17), thank you for sharing your talent and passion for bringing history to life.
This website is created, managed, and edited by Dr. Sheri M. Shuck-Hall, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Public History Center, Christopher Newport University.
Twelve Explorers 