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1819 – 1891 · Manhattan
Herman Melville
Herman Melville went to sea a sailor and came home a writer nobody would read for seventy years.
About
Herman Melville was born in New York in 1819 into a family that fell on hard times. His father died when Herman was twelve, and the money troubles that followed pushed the boy out to work early. At nineteen he went to sea, first on a merchant ship and then on a whaler bound for the Pacific. He jumped ship, lived for a time among islanders in the Marquesas, and came home with stories to tell.
Books on the Atlas
- Moby-Dick 1851
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Illustrations are created with AI assistance. Summaries are written with AI and reviewed by the editor. Book metadata comes from Wikidata and Open Library.