The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1869 volume marks the completion of the Suez Canal, describing a voyage through it by canoe and, later, the grand opening in the presence of royalty and Christian and Islamic religious leaders. It also celebrates the installation of lightning conductors throughout the British fleet after a thirty-five-year campaign to eliminate lightning-related deaths, injuries and damage. Other articles discuss the welfare of seamen, the responsibilities of ships' officers and shipowners, voyages to East Asia and Australasia, the geography of South America, the laying of the French transatlantic cable and the completion of the Pacific Railroad from New York to San Francisco.