Owen Chase
Overview
Whaleship Essex
Obed HendricksBenjamin LawrenceStewardWilliam BondSailorsOwen CoffinIsaac ColeHenry De Witt*Richard PetersonCharles RamsdellBarzillai RaySamuel ReedIsaiah SheppardCharles ShorterLawson ThomasSeth WeeksJoseph WestWilliam Wright...
, that was struck and sunk by a sperm whale
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
on November 20, 1820. Chase wrote about the incident in Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. This book, published in 1821, would inspire Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
to write Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
.
Owen Chase made his living by killing whales both before and after this encounter with the 85 foot Sperm Whale.
