Herman Melivlle: 1819-1891

Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819 in New York City into an established merchant family. His father, Allan Melvill, an importer of French dry goods, went bankrupt and died when Melville was 12. From then on Herman worked as a clerk, teacher, and farmhand.

In search of adventures, Melville shipped out in 1839 as a cabin boy on the whaling ship. He joined later the US Navy, and started his years long voyages on ships. He lived briefly among the Typee cannibals in the Marquesas Islands.

In 1847 Melville got married. After three years in New York, he bought a farm, near Nathaniel Hawthorne's home at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Inspired by the achievement of Hawthore, Melville wrote his masterpiece, Moby-Dick.

In 1855 Melville had a breakdown Ð he started to believe that he was not going to get fame with his writing.

After unsuccessful lecture tours in 1857-60, Melville lived for 3 years in Washington, D.C. He moved to New York, where he was appointed customs inspector on the New York docks. This work secured him a regular income.

He died at his home on East 26th Street on 28 September 1891 and now rests beside his wife Elizabeth in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.