To celebrate the RNLI's 190th birthday today, RNLI Online Editor Mairéad Dwane shares eight notable RNLI innovations that have helped those in peril on the sea.
1/ RNLI crews were among the first seafarers to wear lifejackets, developed from Cork by RNLI inspector John Ward. Picture from 1854.
2/ RNLI supporters in Manchester pull off Britain's first ever charity street collection.
3/ 1899. Unable to launch locally, the indomitable people of Lynmouth drag their lifeboat 11 miles to rescue in a gale.
4/ 1963. The RNLI introduce small inflatable lifeboats to cope with the growing number of incidents closer to shore.
5/ 2000. The RNLI go global, helping flood victims in Mozambique and training local people in rescue techniques.
6/ 2004 The RNLI College, a state-of-the-art training centre complete with wave tank and mission simulator opens.
7/ 2013 The #SaveWave campaign uses social media to reach 1.8M people with RNLI rescue stories.
8/ 2014 The waterjet-propelled, self-righting, RNLI-designed and developed Shannon class lifeboat zooms on to her first station at Dungeness.
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