- Born
- Died
- Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. Although his reputation was not high at the time of his death, the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival, and Moby-Dick grew to be considered one of the great American novels.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bonitao
- SpouseElizabeth Shaw(August 4, 1847 - September 28, 1891) (his death, 4 children)
- RelativesPhoenix Melville(Niece or Nephew)
- Went to sea in his youth, as a cabin boy aboard the whaler 'Acushnet' (1841-42). He deserted his ship at the Marquesas Islands and lived among cannibals. Boarded the Australian whaler 'Lucy Ann' and left at Papeete, for a while becoming a beachcomber. Returned to the U.S. signed on as a seaman aboard the frigate 'United States' (1843-44). His early book "Typee" (1846) is based on these experiences.
- Ancestor of musician Richard Melville Hall who records under the name Moby after his novel 'Moby Dick'.
- Worked as a customs inspector on New York docks from 1866 to 1885.
- In 2010, a species of extinct giant sperm whale, Livyatan melvillei, was named in honor of Melville. The paleontologists who discovered the fossil were fans of Moby-Dick and dedicated their discovery to the author.
- American poet and novelist, whose best-known work, "Moby Dick" (1851), became basis for several films.
- Faith, like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope.
- Some dying men are the most tyrannical; and certainly, since they will shortly trouble us so little for evermore, the poor fellows ought to be indulged.
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