Places
naval-history.net Editor's Research Resources for Place Names
Last revision: 18 October 2024

This list of links has been accumulated by editors.
They are used as a source for research whilst editing the official log-books of Royal Navy ships from the World War 1 era, and Arctic voyages of United States vessels from the mid 19th century onwards.

If you want to see something corrected, or add items to the list, drop me .

Place Names Asia

The Place-Names of Anzac
A list of locations, in English and Turkish, from The New Zealanders at Gallipoli
Names of places on the China coast and the Yangtze River
By order of the Shanghai Inspector General of Customs, listing names in English and Chinese and the customs district, prefecture and sub-prefecture it belongs to
Handbook to the West River 1904
A Hong Kong tourist brochure pushing vacation cruises, complete with place names, pictures and a full size map (PDF file)
Old Weather Forum – China Station, Japan, Pacific and Indian Ocean
China Station, Japan, Pacific and Indian Ocean place names mention in log-books transcribed by the Old Weather project
Hoogly River Pilot ca. 1910
Based on a chart and sundry papers formerly belonging to Arthur David Linklater who qualified as a Hooghly Pilot on 28 April 1911
Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands
A pronouncing gazetteer and geographical dictionary of the Philippine Islands, United States of America with maps, charts and illustrations (1902)
The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot 1900
Containing descriptions of the Suez Canal, the Gulfs of Suez and Akaba, the Red Sea and Strait of Bab-El-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden with Sokotra and adjacent islands, and part of the eastern coast of Arabia
Old Weather Forum – Arabian Peninsula, Persian Gulf, and Western Indian Ocean
Arabian Peninsula, Persian Gulf, and Western Indian Ocean place names mention in log-books transcribed by the Old Weather project
Wuvulu Website – The Western Islands of the Bismarck Archipelago
A comprehensive, annotated index of current and historical names of all the islands in the Western Islands of the Bismarck Archipelago
Historical Maps and Charts

Old Maps Online
Discovering the Cartography of the Past; an easy gateway to historical maps in libraries around the world
Map Collection Charles University
Geographic search in the map collection of the Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic)
naval-history.net - Campaign and Battle Maps of World War 1
Outstanding resource put together by Gordon Smith, from mainly contemporary sources
WW1 Archive - British Empire Dockyards and Ports, 1909
These plans of the many British Empire dockyards and ports are from the Dock Book, June 1909, published by the British Admiralty "For the Information of Officers in H. M. Service Only."
A Vision of Britain Through Time
A vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001, including historical maps
David Rumsey Map Collection
Browse the David Rumsey historical map collection by category
University of Texas – World Map 1913
International Map of the World 1:1,000,000
University of Texas – Historical Maps
Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Map Collection
NOAA's Historical Map & Chart Collection
Covers the land and waters of the United States of America, including territories and possessions (past and present)
USGS TopoView
TopoView shows the many and varied older maps of each area, and so is especially useful for historical purposes
Digital Commonwealth – Massachusetts Collections Online
Explore historical maps from libraries, museums, and archives across Massachusetts
National Library of Scotland – Charts of Scotland, 1795-1963
National Library of Scotland's collection of Admiralty Charts of Scottish coasts, 1795-1963
New South Wales State Library – World War 1 Maps
Explore the extensive collection of maps the Library has been acquiring since the end of the War, including many Dardanelles maps
Historical Maps of Singapore
Maps from 1846 to 2019, digitised by the Department of Geography, National University of Singapore
Probert Encyclopedia – Archaic Maps
Maps of the world at different points in time (The Probert Encyclopedia is no longer online, the link leads to an archived version)