In 1774 an illiterate wagon maker from Suffolk, England made a wager with a local gambler that he could build and demonstrate a submersible vessel. The gambler put up the money to build the sub and the wagon maker, John Day, went about buying an old sloop and converting it into a submarine.

He had in fact already built a submarine and tested it without anyone knowing about it. He claimed he stayed under water for 24 hours before returning to the surface. (This claim however is unproven and quite possibly untrue.)

For the demonstration Day converted the sloop Maria into a submersible by sealing off the compartment amidship and adding extra ballast to the fore and aft sections. In addition he added 20 tons of ballast under the keel held in place by ropes which he could release from inside allowing the boat to rise back to the surface.

On June 20, 1774 Day had his makeshift were sub towed out of Plymouth while the gambler Blake, took last minute bets as to whether Day would successfully return to the surface. As you might guess John Day never returned to the surface becoming the first man to die in a submarine. Blake, the gambler who financed the whole project vanished with all the money and never paid off any of those who had bet against.

© 2006 Michael W. Pocock
MaritimeQuest.com