News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author investigates the perhaps surprising legacy of early 20^th century warship provisioning. While the cornucopia of commodities required to provision a Dreadnought-class battleship is to be expected, the long duration and haphazard nature of the victualing system emphasizes historical continuity and institutional ossification in an otherwise transformative era. A 30 minute read.

Ed. For the bicentenary of Trafalgar Day in 2005, distinguished scholars and Naval Review members produced a series of articles on Nelson’s legacy for the 21^st century [93/4, p. 320]. Professor Geoffrey Till provided the following comparison between the then emerging Effects Based Approach (EBA) and the illusive Nelson Touch. Reprinted here for the 218^th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. A 20 minute read.

Ed. Not too unlike the Hellenstic inventor Archimedes and his patron Hiero II of Syracuse, or 20th century technologists such as Bob Noyce and William Shockley, brothers Samuel and Jeremy Bentham were a pair of functionalist Georgian characters. While Jeremy is well known for his contributions to the Reform Movement and utilitarian philosophy, the younger brother Samuel, a prototypical early steam-era inventor and Royal Navy engineer, in the mold of predecessors such as Thomas Slade and Charles Middleton, or successors like Sir Robert Seppings and Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, is less well known. The authors herein examine Samuel Bentham’s life and work. A 30 minute read.