National Maritime Museum, London
Photo: ChrisO, GNU Free Documentation License
The National Maritime Museum is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site of Maritime Greenwich.
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom. It was created by the National Maritime Act of 1934, through the generous donations of Sir James Caird (1864–1954). King George VI formally opened the Museum in April 27, 1937 accompanied by his daughter Princess Elizabeth, the present Queen Elizabeth II, taking a journey down the Thames from London.
Greenwich has always had an association with the sea and with navigation. The Romans landed there, King Henry VIII lived there, the navy is stationed at the waterfront, and King Charles II founded the Royal Observatory there in 1675 to locate the longitude of places. Greenwich is the home of the Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian since 1884, and has long been a centre for astronomical study, and navigators across the world have set their clocks according to its time of day.
The Museum has the most important collection in the world on Britain's role at sea. It contains more than two million items including including maritime art (both British and 17th-century Dutch), cartography, manuscripts including official public records, ship models and plans, scientific and navigational instruments, instruments for time-keeping and astronomy (based at the Observatory). The National Maritime Museum's British portraits collection is exceeded in size only by that of the National Portrait Gallery and its collection on Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson and Captain James Cook, among many other individuals, is simply the best anywhere.
The National Maritime Museum has the world's largest maritime historical reference library - 100,000 volumes strong - including books dating back to the 15th century. An active loans programme ensures that items from the collection are seen in the UK and abroad. Pairing with the Royal Observatory, it enjoys a unique blend of subjects covering history, science and the arts.
The National Maritime Museum is located within the 200-acre Greenwich Royal Park in the buildings previously occupied by the Royal Hospital School (or Royal Naval School). It includes the Queen's House, part of the historic site of Maritime Greenwich, which was made a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1997, and the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
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National Maritime Museum, 
