Sketch of the Whaleship Essex being struck by a whale. Sketched by Thomas Nickerson 20 November 1819

Thomas Nickerson (1805?-1883) was a fourteen-year-old cabin boy on the whale ship Essex, who wrote an account of the boat's sinking and the three months that the crew survived at sea. Whaleship Essex now found in the Nantucket Historical Association The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Whaleship Essex now found in the Nantucket Historical Association The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1819 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Sketch of the Whaleship Essex being struck by a whale 20 November 1820. ...

Born on the island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts, Nickerson made his first sea voyage in 1819, at the age of fourteen, on the ill-fated whaler, Essex. When the ship was struck by a whale on November 20, he joined the boat of the first mate, Owen Chase, who later wrote about the incident in the Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, the book that would inspire Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, formed of glacial moraine. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... 1819 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Owen Chase (1798-1869) First Mate of the whale ship Essex, that was struck and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1920. ... Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, essayist, and poet. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick – the hyphen in the title is present in the original edition – is a novel by Herman Melville. ...

Nickerson returned to sea after his rescue, serving on other whale ships and eventually working his way up to captain of a merchant vessel. Upon retiring he ran a boarding house in Nantucket, which was visited by the writer Leon Lewis, who encouraged him to write down his story of the three months he was lost at sea with the Essex survivors. Nickerson did this, and in 1876, he sent the manuscript, as well as accounts of other adventures he had later in life, to Lewis for editing. Lewis, however, was having a personal crisis, and the manuscript was abandoned. When Lewis journeyed to England, he left the manuscript with friends in Connecticut, where it was forgotten. 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... State nickname: The Constitution State Other U.S. States Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Governor M. Jodi Rell Official languages English Area 14,371 km² (48th)  - Land 12,559 km²  - Water 1,809 km² (12. ...

Nickerson died in 1883, but it was only in 1960 that his unedited manuscript was discovered. It took another twenty years before it was authenticated; an abridged version was published by the Nantucket Historical Society in 1984, over one hundred years after Nickerson had died. 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...