Herman Melville Born August 1st

Melville was born August 1st, 1819 in New York City. Melville was descened from a well known Boston family; his grandfather having take part in the Boston Tea Party. His father's early death when Melville was 12 led him to the desire to independently support himself. A brother helped him obtain a job as a "boy" (green hand) on ship bound for Liverpool. This experience would inspire his first novel, Redburn: His First Voyage. His most famous novel, Moby Dick - or The Whale, was still to come.

"A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things."

"A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities."









Learn more at The Life and Works of Herman Melville. Rictor Norton discusses themes of homosexuality in Melville's works.