Herman Melville

Herman Melville (August 1 1819 – September 28 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet. His first two books gained much attention, though they were not bestsellers, and his popularity declined precipitously after only a few years. By the time of his death he had been almost completely forgotten, but his longest novel, Moby-Dick largely considered a failure during his lifetime, and most responsible for Melville's fall from favor with the reading public was recognized in the 20th century as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. Herman Melville was born in New York City on August 1, 1819, as the third child of Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melvill. (After Allan died, Maria added an "e" to the surname.) Part of a well-established - if colorful - Boston family, Melville's father spent a good deal of time abroad doing business deals as a commission merchant and an importer of French dry goods. His paternal grandfather,... full article at wikipedia