Based on a 19th-century maritime tradition, "time balls" were once dropped down poles in ports at noon. Ships would use the balls to adjust their clocks to the local time. Lightbulbs, a new ...

Captain Peter G. Minch, a millionaire and 19th Century shipping magnate, owned the ship, according to the shipwreck group. During the voyage when it sank, Minch took his family for a late summer ...