In the tempestuous waters of the 18th century, a revolutionary idea emerged from the depths of despair and necessity: the lifeboat. Born from the genius of Lionel Lukin in 1785, the invention redefined maritime rescue. Amidst the roaring seas, innovations flourished and a new institution was set up. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) which has been saving lives for 200 years, is funded entirely by donations.

Hayley Whiting, Heritage Archive and Research Manager for the RNLI joins Dan to tell the tales of dramatic rescues past, including Grace Darling who braved heavy seas and treacherous winds to rescue the passengers of a steamship that suffered a catastrophic engine failure and wrecked off the Northumberland coast of England in 1838.

You can find out more and donate at www.rnli.org/200

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/

We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.