Herman Melville
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century
- Categories: Literature, Publishing
- Subcategories: Authors, Writers, Novelists, Short Story Writers
- Curriculum: American History 1816-1855, American Civil War & Reconstruction Era (1856-1877), American History 1878-1900
Article abstract: With great power and insight into man’s ambiguous nature, Melville helped prove that American literature could equal that of England.
Early Life
Herman Melville was born August 1, 1819, in New York City, the second son of Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melvill. (The final e was added after Allan’s death in 1832, perhaps to indicate the family’s connection with the aristocratic Melville clan of Scotland.) He grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Gansevoort, for whom the family had high expectations. In contrast, his mother...
[The entire page is 3262 words long]
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