Bowditch's American Practical Navigator

Bowditch's American Practical Navigator

Frontispiece of 1802 first edition
Publisher	Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic Topographic Center (DMAHTC)

The American Practical Navigator (colloquially often referred to as Bowditch), originally written by Nathaniel Bowditch, is an encyclopedia of navigation. It serves as a valuable handbook on oceanography and meteorology, and contains useful tables and a maritime glossary. In 1867 the copyright and plates were bought by the Hydrographic Office of the United States Navy. As of 2019 it is still published by the U.S. Government and is available free online from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the modern successor agency to the 19th Century Hydrographic Office. The publication is considered one of America's nautical institutions.^{[citation needed]}