Todd, secretary of the British Post Office. Franklin's Gulf Stream chart was printed in 1769 in London, but it was mostly ignored by British sea captains. A copy of the chart was printed in Paris circa 1770-1773, and a third version was published by Franklin in Philadelphia in 1786.

Since the mid-20th century, advances in oceanographic observation have greatly improved scientific understanding of the Gulf Stream. Direct measurements of its velocity and temperature began with research vessels and moored current meters in the 1950s and