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George Pollard Jr. (c. 1791–1870) was the captain of the whalers Essex and Two Brothers, both of which sank. Pollard's life, including his encounter with the sperm whale that sank Essex , served as inspiration for Captain Ahab , the whale-obsessed character in Herman Melville 's Moby-Dick .
Captain George Pollard Jr. was just 29 years old when the Essex went down, and he survived and returned to Nantucket to captain a second whaling ship, Two Brothers. But when that ship wrecked on...
George Pollard, Jr. (1791–1870) was the captain of the whaleship Essex and Two Brothers, both of which sank. He was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, the son of a ship’s captain, at a time when the principal industry there was hunting sperm whales to harvest the oil contained in their blubber and spermaceti.
- The Morgan Family
- Jared Coffin House
- Captain Pollard's House
- ‘Sconset
- Sankaty Head Lighthouse
- Thomas Macy House
- Mitchell House
Melville and his father-in-law, Massachusetts Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, traveled to Nantucket together. They stayed at the Ocean House hotel, which is now known as the Jared Coffin House. The duo’s room overlooked Captain Pollard’s house on Centre Street. Jared Coffin, a successful ship owner from the island’s whaling heyday, built the house in 18...
By the time Melville visited Nantucket, Captain Pollard (the captain of the Essex) had retired from whaling and was working as the town’s nightwatchman. Locals say that when Melville stayed at Ocean House, he would wave at Pollard from the front stoop as he tended the streetlamps at night. Pollard’s house was on Centre Street (across from Ocean Hou...
Melville visited the quaint village of ‘Sconset, or more accurately Siasconset, on his trip, when the area was still rife with fishing shanties from the 1700s and 1800s (many of which have been turned into small cottages by now). His journey to ‘Sconset was part of a carriage tour of the island. The village likely inspired a book he wrote but never...
When Melville visited Nantucket, he and his wife, Elizabeth Shaw, lived in the Berkshires and were close friends with author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who lived nearby. Melville sent Hawthorne a letter about his visit to Sankaty Head Lighthouse at the easternmost point on the island. “The air is suppressedly charged with the sound of long lines of surf,...
Since Melville hadn't been to Nantucket when he wrote Moby Dick, he learned about the town by poring over historian Obed Macy’s 1835 book The History of Nantucket. Macy died in 1844—so when Melville visited in 1852, he didn’t meet the author, but instead met his son, Thomas Macy. They met at the Macy’s house (now known as the Thomas Macy House) to ...
Maria Mitchell is widely considered to be the first female astronomer in America. In 1847, she discovered a comet, which was dubbed "Miss Mitchell's Comet," or more formally, C/1847 T1 . Her love of astronomy came to her by way of her astronomer father, William. When Melville visited the island, he spent some time with both father and daughter at t...
Throughout the journey, Pollard lets his subordinates—especially Chase and Joy—push him around. The first time this happens is when the Essex nearly flips over just days after its departure. Pollard wants to return home, but he's convinced otherwise by his mates.
May 23, 2018 · George Pollard, Jr. (1791–1870) was the captain of the whaleships Essex and Two Brothers, both of which sank. Pollard's life, including his encounter with the sperm whale that sank the Essex, served as inspiration for Captain Ahab, the whale-obsessed character in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.
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When Captain George Pollard Jr.'s ship was rammed by a whale, he had no idea it would help make literary history.
