John Hamilton Moore

author

John Hamilton Moore

1738–1807

A key figure in 18th-century navigation writing, he turned practical seamanship into clear instruction for working sailors and students. His manuals and charts helped shape how mariners learned to find their way at sea.

1 Audiobook

The Young Gentleman and Lady's Monitor, and English Teacher's Assistant Being a collection of select pieces from our best modern writers, calculated to eradicate vulgar prejudices and rusticity of manners, improve the understanding, rectify the will, purify the passions, direct the minds of youth to the pursuit of proper objects, and to facilitate their reading, writing, and speaking the English language with elegance and propriety

The Young Gentleman and Lady's Monitor, and English Teacher's Assistant Being a collection of select pieces from our best modern writers, calculated to eradicate vulgar prejudices and rusticity of manners, improve the understanding, rectify the will, purify the passions, direct the minds of youth to the pursuit of proper objects, and to facilitate their reading, writing, and speaking the English language with elegance and propriety

by John Hamilton Moore

About the author

Born in Edinburgh in 1738 and educated in Ireland, John Hamilton Moore later joined the Royal Navy at Plymouth before building his career as a teacher of navigation. Around 1770 he opened a nautical academy in Brentford, and soon became known for explaining complex navigational methods in a way ordinary seamen could use.

His best-known work was The New Practical Navigator—first issued in the 1770s under a slightly different title—which became a widely used handbook of practical navigation. Moore also worked as a chartseller and hydrographer in London, producing nautical charts and instructional material during a period when sea travel, trade, and exploration were expanding quickly.

Moore died in 1807, but his influence lasted well beyond his lifetime. He is remembered as one of the writers who helped turn navigation into something more systematic, teachable, and useful for everyday maritime life.