Herman Melville (1819-91) was the son of a merchant, and was born in New York. Melville first trained as a teacher before signing on as a sailor on a merchant ship in 1839. He drew on his experiences of working a whaling ship for the background for Moby Dick and also on his adventures in Polynesia ...

Herman Melville (1819-91) was the son of a merchant, and was born in New York. Melville first trained as a teacher before signing on as a sailor on a merchant ship in 1839. He drew on his experiences of working a whaling ship for the background for Moby Dick and also on his adventures in Polynesia for some of his other novels, such as Typee and Omoo. He was a friend of many other writers of the time, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, to whom he dedicated Moby Dick.