Herman Melville

Herman Melville: Biography and Fascinating Facts

Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, in New York City. His father, Allan, was a well-off naval merchant. Melville began school at the New York Male High School in 1824 at the age of five and soon moved to the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School. In his early years at school, Herman Melville did not perform well; however, as time passed, his academic skills improved, and he would eventually become a devoted scholar. In fact, he was recognized as a good student by the city of Albany, New York, in 1831 after the family moved there and he transferred to the Albany Academy.

Though Melville’s childhood and his relationship with his parents were happy, his father Allan had a habit of overspending and borrowing money he could not repay. It was due to his debt that Melville’s family frequently moved house and that Melville's education was broken up at different schools. By October 1831, Allan’s debts were so bad that Herman Melville dropped out of school to cut the cost of his tuition. Allan’s health and mental state began to deteriorate, and in 1832 he died, leaving his family deeply in debt.

Fig. 1 - Herman Melville spent many of his formative years living in Albany, New York.

Herman Melville took a job at a bank in Albany for several years, but in 1834 he switched to a position at his brother’s fur store. The next year, having funds for tuition once again, he enrolled in the Albany Classical School and then switched again in 1836 to the Albany Academy, only to drop out again in 1837 due to financial stress. When his brother's fur company went bankrupt in 1837, Melville taught at Sikes District School for a semester. Following this, he spent a term studying engineering at the Lansingburgh Academy; in 1839, Herman Melville sought an engineering career but got nowhere with it.

After these turbulent years, Herman Melville published his first essay, “Fragments from a Writing Desk,” in an 1839 issue of Democratic Press and Lansingburgh Advertiser, a local newspaper. This instance helped Melville develop a taste for publishing his writing. Despite this, Melville’s first book would not come for several more years.

In 1839, Herman Melville joined the crew of a merchant ship and sailed from New York to Liverpool. He soon set sail again, this time on a whaling ship in 1841. The ship reached the Marquesas Islands in the summer of 1842; there, Melville and a shipmate left their crew and spent about a month living on the island of Nuku Hiva. This experience would inspire Melville’s first book, Typee (1846). His continued adventures after leaving Nuku Hiva—which include further sailing, a mutiny, and time spent on various other islands—inspired a sequel that followed Typee named Omoo (1847).

Fig. 2 - Herman Melville's writing career launched successfully due to the inspiration of his time living in Nuku Hiva.

Following these exploits, Herman Melville served on another whaling ship, lived in Hawaii for several months, then briefly joined the US Navy. He then returned home to New York state and wrote his first two books. Both books were hugely popular and brought Melville swift success as a writer. The income from these books put Melville in a good place financially, and on August 4, 1847, after only a three-month-long engagement, he married Elizabeth Knapp Shaw. The two moved to the area of New York City, now known as Park Avenue.

Herman Melville continued to write; his next publications were Mardi (1849), Redburn (1849), and White-Jacket (1850). Melville’s next work would be the one that is most famous today, though, during his lifetime, he was best known for Typee. Melville published the book under two names: The Whale in Britain, and Moby-Dick in the US, both released in 1851. Though in later decades this novel would be considered a classic of American Literature, it did not bring in the money that Melville hoped for.

In an attempt to write something that would be a sure hit and bring in enough money to cover his growing debts, Melville released Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). However, the book was not well-liked by readers or critics and was the first in a string of disappointing releases for Melville.

Between Fall 1856 and Spring 1857, Herman Melville toured Europe and the Mediterranean. In April 1857, Melville published his last finished novel, The Confidence-Man, which was not liked at the time but is now well-regarded. Over the next decade, Melville both worked as a lecturer and published poetry, though his works continued to receive lukewarm reviews.

Herman Melville took a job as a customs inspector in New York City starting in 1866; he held the position for 19 years. He deteriorated with time, treating his wife unusually poorly and growing weak in both mind and body. He no longer attempted to make a career of his literary works, though he was still dedicated to writing. Melville retired from his customs job on December 31, 1885, then lived a quiet life until he died of heart failure at 72 on September 28, 1891.