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- 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. The sinking inspired the climactic scene in Herman Melville ’s Moby Dick (1851).
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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.
Mar 15, 2024 · 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. The sinking inspired the climactic scene in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851).
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.
Nov 2, 2020 · Published November 2, 2020. Updated February 27, 2024. After the whaleship "Essex" was sunk by a vengeful sperm whale, its crew was left on the high seas for 90 days — causing them to resort to cannibalism. Camden Public Library The Essex, the ship Moby-Dick is based on, was sunk by a vengeful whale.
Dec 8, 2021 · The Essex set sail in 1819, hoping for a successful whaling expedition. Instead, the ship was sunk by a whale attack, leading to a brutal struggle for survival. This terrifying wreck, and its cannibalistic aftermath, inspired <i>Moby Dick</i>.
- Carolyn Cox
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 …
The adventure, which is one of the world’s great triumphs of survival, has been recorded in an account of stunning vividness, First Mate Owen Chase’s Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-ship Essex, of Nantuchet.
