Maury, then, was not merely a theorizer without the power of applying his ideas to the practical needs of men. His greatness consisted in his being a man of vision and imagination, and at the same time a man of tremendous industry who was willing to toil endlessly that his theories might be made practical realities. This aim of unselfish service to humanity was displayed in all his researches in the science of the sea, from which came the works upon which his claim to fame chiefly rests. These were “The Wind and Current Charts”, “Sailing Directions”, and “The Physical Geography of the Sea”. That such a claim is no idle one is borne out by the works themselves as well as by their influence upon all succeeding marine research, and it was the realization of this fact that led the Secretary of the Navy recently to give to the oceanographic research now being planned the name “Maury United States Naval Oceanographic Research”. [Illustration: _Courtesy of “The Journal of American History,” Vol. IV, Number 3 (1910)._ SET OF SILVER MEDALS PRESENTED TO MAURY BY POPE PIUS IX See page 65] [Illustration: _Courtesy of “The Journal of American History,” Vol. IV, Number 3 (1910)._ MEDALS BESTOWED UPON MAURY Gold medals bestowed upon Maury by the rulers of Sweden, Prussia, Holland, Austria, Sardinia, and France, the Republic of Bremen, and the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855. See page 65.] CHAPTER VII HIS EXTRA-PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS During the many years he spent at the Naval Observatory, Maury was by no means a narrow-minded specialist, as can be readily seen by a consideration of the wide range of his interests, which extended from the planting of sunflowers to keep malaria away from the Observatory to speculations as to the navigation of the air and a curious machine that was a kind of combination of phonograph and telephone. Before going forward with the story of his life, it would be well, therefore, to pause and consider some of these extra-professional activities that he was interested in.