Famous Lighthouses

Lighthouses have become popular tourist destinations. In the United States, lighthouses are maintained by the United States Coast Guard. In the United Kingdom, those in England and Wales are looked after by Trinity House, those in Scotland by the Northern Lighthouse Board, and those in all of Ireland by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. In Canada, they are managed by the Canadian Coast Guard.

Perhaps the most famous lighthouse in history is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built on the island of Pharos in ancient Egypt. The name of the island is still used as the noun for "lighthouse" in some languages, for example French(phare), Italian(faro also has the meaning of "headlight" e.g. in a car), Spanish(faro), and Portuguese (farol). The word "pharology," (the study of lighthouses) is also derived from the island's name.

In the beginning of the 20th century Swedish inventor Gustav Dahlén invented the AGA Lighthouse which made manned lighthouses obsolete. For many years, lighthouses were still manned, partly because lighthouse keepers could serve as a rescue service if necessary. Improvements in maritime navigation and safety such as GPS have led to the phasing out of manned lighthouses, with the last keepers removed in the 1990s. Today there are a few manned lighthouses left in existence; the vast majority, however, have been automated.

In some locations, the lighthouse buildings are being maintained as tourist attractions, but in inaccessible locations, modern lighthouses are being installed. These are much more functional and less picturesque buildings; usually they are solar-powered and have a single flashing light which does not rotate.

The Soviet Union built a number of unmanned lighthouses powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators. These now pose serious concerns, as the radioactive material could leak, leading to radioactive contamination, or be stolen and used in a dirty bomb. Some of these lighthouses cannot be found, due to poor recordkeeping.