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Coordinates: 0°41′S 118°00′W. Essex was an American whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was launched in 1799. On November 20, 1820, while at sea in the southern Pacific Ocean under the command of Captain George Pollard Jr., the ship was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale.
Essex, American whaling ship that was rammed by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820, and later sank. Although all 20 crewmen initially survived, only 8 were rescued following an arduous journey that devolved into cannibalism .
On November 20, 1820, the American whaling ship Essex was rammed by a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) and sunk. The incident inspired Herman Melville’s famous novel Moby Dick . The Essex had left her home port on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States, more than a year earlier.
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is a book by American writer Nathaniel Philbrick about the loss of the whaler Essex in the Pacific Ocean in 1820. The book was published by Viking Press on May 8, 2000, and won the 2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction .
- Nathaniel Philbrick
- 2000
The Whaleship Essex - Stove by a Whale. Essex model, by Mark Sutherland, 2011.29.1. No one knows exactly what the Essex looked like. This model is based on close study of period ship portraits and details preserved in the ship’s government registration documents.
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The Whaleship Essex. On November 20, 1820, an enraged sperm whale rammed and sank the Nantucket whaleship Essex in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,300 miles from the nearest land. Twenty sailors survived the attack and quickly outfitted their three small whaleboats to make a journey to safety.
Whaleship Essex Sinks. On this day in 1820, an enormous sperm whale rammed and sank the Nantucket whaleship Essex in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. The first mate described the 85-foot whale's unprovoked attack as enraged and vengeful. The 20-man crew of the Essex rigged improvised sails on three whale boats and attempted to sail over 3,000 ...
