Mad as a Lighthouse Keeper -- Not the Solitude, but the Mercury

Mad as a Lighthouse Keeper -- Not the Solitude, but the Mercury

Lighthouse keepers had more to worry about than simply storms and terrible conditions. In the 19th century, lighthouse keepers had a high frequency of madness and suicide.  Many assumed that they went mad from solitude and the demands of the job. It turns out it was something simpler and more sinister. An updated repost. Fresnel lenses were the great lighthouse innovation of the 19th century.  The lenses developed by French physicist Augustin-Je…