Seafaring in the 1800s, was a risky proposition, as sailors lacked maps of ocean surface currents and winds. Matthew Fontaine Maury, a naval officer and oceanographer known as the "Pathfinder of the Seas", was notable for his pioneering scientific work in the fields of navigation, hydrography and meteorology, and he is credited as being the man who made sailing safer and far more efficient by inventing a new way to chart ocean currents and winds.