international translators day/St.Jerome

International Translation Day is celebrated every year on 30 September on the feast of St. Jerome, (Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) the Bible translator, priest, confessor , theologian, and historian, who is considered the patron saint of translator after translatingd most of the Bible into Latin (the translation that became known as the Vulgate), and making commentaries on the Gospels, who died 30 September

He was baptised around 360–366 A.D. he Went to Rome with his friend Bonosus (who may or may not have been the same Bonosus whom Jerome identifies as his friend who went to live as a hermit on an island in the Adriatic) to pursue rhetorical and philosophical studies. He studied under the grammarian Aelius Donatus. There Jerome learned Latin and at least some Greek, though probably not the familiarity with Greek literature he would later claim to have acquired as a schoolboy. As a student in Rome, he engaged in the superficial escapades and homosexual behaviour of students there, which he indulged in quite casually but for which he suffered terrible bouts of guilt afterwards. To appease his conscience, he would visit on Sundays the sepulchres of the martyrs and the Apostles in the catacombs.

Jerome Was The protégé of Pope Damasus I, and was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention on the lives of women and identified how a woman devoted to Jesus should live her life. This focus stemmed from his close patron relationships with several prominent female ascetics who were members of affluent senatorial families. He is recognised as a Saint and Doctor of the Church by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Communion.

Jerome used a quote from Virgil—”On all sides round horror spread wide; the very silence breathed a terror on my soul” to describe the horror of hell. Jerome initially used classical authors to describe Christian concepts such as hell that indicated both his classical education and his deep shame of their associated practices, such as pederasty which was found in Rome. Although initially skeptical of Christianity, he was eventually converted After several years in Rome, he travelled with Bonosus to Gaul and settled in Trier where he seems to have first taken up theological studies, and where he copied, for his friend Tyrannius Rufinus, Hilary of Poitiers’ commentary on the Psalms and the treatise De synodis. Next came a stay of at least several months, or possibly years, with Rufinus at Aquileia, where he made many Christian friends.

Some of these accompanied him when he set out about 373 on a journey through Thrace and Asia Minor into northern Syria. At Antioch, wo of his companions died and he himself was seriously ill During one of these illnesses (about the winter of 373–374), he had a vision that led him to lay aside his secular studies and devote himself to God. He began studying the Bible, under the impulse of Apollinaris of Laodicea. Then went to the southeast of Antioch, known as the “Syrian Thebaid”, from the number of hermits inhabiting it, to study and write and learn Hebrew under the guidance of a converted Jew; and corresponded with Jewish Christians in Antioch. He has the Hebrew Gospel, preserved in his notes, nd is known today as the Gospel of the Hebrews, and which the Nazarenes considered to be the true Gospel of Matthew which he translated into Greek. He returned to Antioch in 378 or 379, he was ordained by Bishop Paulinus. Soon afterward, he went to Constantinople to study Scripture under Gregory Nazianzen. By 385 he returned toRome, as secretary to Pope Damasus I. Jerome accompanied one of the claimants, Paulinus back to Rome during the Schizm of Antioch in order to get more support for him, and distinguished himself to the pope, and took a prominent place in his councils.

While in Rome, he revised the Latin Bible, basing it on the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. He also updated the Psalter containing the Book of Psalms. In Rome he was surrounded by a circle of well-born and well-educated women, including some from the noblest patrician families, such as the widows Lea, Marcella and Paula, with Paula’s daughters Blaesilla and Eustochium. Jerome’s unsparing criticism of the secular clergy of Rome, brought a growing hostility against him among the Roman clergy and their supporters and Soon after the death of his patron Damasus (10 December 384), Jerome was forced to leave his position at Rome despite this His letters were widely read and distributed throughout the Christian empire. Additionally, his condemnation of Blaesilla’s hedonistic lifestyle in Rome led her to adopt ascetic practices, which affected her health and worsened her physical weakness until she died Outraging many of the Roman populace. In August 385, he left Rome for good and returned to Antioch, accompanied by his brother Paulinian and several friends, including Paula and Eustochium. The pilgrims, joined by Bishop Paulinus of Antioch, visited Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the holy places of Galilee, and then went to Egypt. At the Catechetical School of Alexandria, Jerome listened to the catechist Didymus the Blind expounding the prophet Hosea and telling his reminiscences of Anthony the Great.

David Barbe (Sugar, Buzz hungry, Mercyland)

American musician and producer /engineer David Barbe was born September 30, 1963). Barbe moved to Athens, Georgia in 1981 to attend the University of Georgia. In Athens, he played occasional guitar with punk favorites Bar-B-Que Killers. He later formed his own group, Mercyland in 1985 and acted as the main songwriter, bassist, and co-lead singer. After Mercyland disbanded in 1991, he fronted Buzz Hungry.

Shortly after this John Keane offered to tutor him in music production and engineering, Bob Mould also asked him to join Sugar. Barbe initially turned Mould down, feeling that he should stay home and look after his family. But his wife encouraged him to accept. Barbe contributed a number of songs, some from Buzz Hungry and some original, that were performed live and/or released as B-sides, such as ‘Where Diamonds are Halos’ which was also recorded as part of a BBC radio session. In 1994, with his family now including three children, he decided he needed to leave Sugar.

Barbe and Mould played a reunion show on March 18, 2008, in Atlanta as Barbe joined Mould’s touring band for a rendition of Divide & Conquer ( a Hüsker Dü song, not a Sugar song). Barbe also joined Mould for a full gig on October 18, 2009, at the Treasure Island Music Festival. Barbe flew out to play the show after bassist Jason Narducy’s wife went into labor. The set consisted of a mix of Hüsker Dü and Sugar songs.

In 1997, Barbe and two co-owners opened Chase Park Transduction studios in Athens. Since opening Chase Park, Barbe has worked as a producer, engineer, writer and musician on hundreds of recording projects with many artists, including Drive-By Truckers, Deerhunter, the Glands, Jerry Joseph, Amy Ray, k.d. lang, and R.E.M. Barbe has performed in a wide variety of “one-off” bands such as Christa McAuliffe and the Challengers and helped create or contribute to many cassette and vinyl compilation records around Athens and Atlanta such as Proud o’ Me Gluttony and Some. He performed at AthFest 2007 with Jack Logan. In 2011, Barbe remixed and reissued Mercyland’s sole full-length album, No Feet on the Cowling. In 2010, Barbe was named interim director of the University of Georgia’s Music Business Certificate Program, then in March 2011 he was appointed the certificate program’s director on a permanent basis by Terry College of Business Dean Robert Sumichrast.

He is currently director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the University of Georgia and is chief of Chase Park Transduction studio in Athens. Barbe is known for his work as a songwriter, singer, guitarist, and bass guitarist in Sugar, Mercyland, and Buzz Hungry, as well as solo performances. Also, he has produced nearly every album by the popular country rock band Drive-By Truckers, and has worked as producer and engineer with Son Volt. He has an all-star solo band in Athens called the Quick Hooks.

Truman Capote

American author Truman Capote was born September 30, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the son of 17-year-old Lillie Mae Faulk and salesman Archulus Persons. His parents divorced when he was four, and he was sent to Monroeville, Alabama, where, for the following four to five years, he was raised by his mother’s relatives. He formed a fast bond with his mother’s distant relative, Nanny Rumbley Faulk, whom Truman called “Sook”. “Her face is remarkable – not unlike Lincoln’s, craggy like that, and tinted by sun and wind”, is how Capote described Sook in “A Christmas Memory” (1956). In Monroeville, he was a neighbor and friend of author Harper Lee, who is rumored to have based the character Dill on Capote. As a lonely child, Capote taught himself to read and write before he entered his first year of school. Capote was often seen at age five carrying his dictionary and notepad, and began writing fiction at the age of 11. He was given the nickname “Bulldog” around this age and for the rest of his childhood he honed his writing ability.

On Saturdays, he made trips from Monroeville to the nearby city of Mobile on the Gulf Coast, and at one point submitted a short story, “Old Mrs. Busybody”, to a children’s writing contest sponsored by the Mobile Press Register. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her second husband, Joseph Capote, a Cuban-born textile broker, who adopted him as his stepson and renamed him Truman García Capote. However, Joseph was convicted of embezzlement and shortly afterwards, when his income crashed, the family was forced to leave Park Avenue. Capote received recognition for his early work from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 1936.

While still attending Franklin in 1943, Capote began working as a copyboy in the art department at The New Yorker, a job he held for two years before being fired for angering poet Robert Frost. Years later, he reminisced, “Not a very grand job, for all it really involved was sorting cartoons and clipping newspapers. Still, I was fortunate to have it, especially since I was determined never to set a studious foot inside a college classroom. I felt that either one was or wasn’t a writer, and no combination of professors could influence the outcome. I still think I was correct, at least in my own case.” He left his job to live with relatives in Alabama and began writing his first novel, Summer Crossing

Capote began his professional career writing short stories. The critical success of one story, “Miriam” (1945), attracted the attention of Random House publisher Bennett Cerf, resulting in a contract to write Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948). Capote earned the most fame with In Cold Blood, a journalistic work about the murder of a Kansas farm family in their home, a book Capote spent four years writing, with much help from Harper Lee, who wrote the famous To Kill a Mockingbird. A milestone in popular culture, In Cold Blood was the peak of his literary career, though it was not his final book. In the 1970s, he maintained his celebrity status by appearing on many television talk shows. sadly Truman Capote passed away 25 August 1984 however At least 20 films and television dramas have been produced from Capote novels, including in Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard and his novels remain popular. His stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) and the true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966), which he labeled a “nonfiction novel.”

International blasphemy day

International Blasphemy Day Takes place annually on 30 September Blasphemy Day is celebrated on September 30 to coincide with the anniversary of the publication of satirical drawings of Muhammad in one of Denmark’s newspapers, which resulted in the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy among Danish Muslims, and became a widespread furor after Muslim imams in several countries stirred up violent protests in which Danish embassies were firebombed and over 100 people were killed in subsequent protests concerning the cartoons.

Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence toward a deity, to religious or holy persons or sacred things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider blasphemy to be a religious crime. International Blasphemy Day is designed to encourage individuals and groups to openly express criticism of religion and blasphemy laws.International Blasphemy Day was founded in 2009 by the Center for Inquiry. A student contacted the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, to present the idea, which CFI then supported. Ronald Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, said, regarding Blasphemy Day, “We think religious beliefs should be subject to examination and criticism just as political beliefs are, but we have a taboo on religion”, in an interview with CNN. Events worldwide on the first annual Blasphemy Day in 2009 included an art exhibit in Washington, D.C. and a free speech festival in Los Angeles. According to USA Today’s interview with Justin Trottier, a Toronto coordinator of Blasphemy Day, “We’re not seeking to offend, but if in the course of dialogue and debate, people become offended, that’s not an issue for us. There is no human right not to be offended.”

As of 2012, anti-blasphemy laws existed in 32 countries, while 87 nations had hate speech laws that covered defamation of religion and public expression of hate against a religious group. Anti-blasphemy laws are particularly common in Muslim-majority nations, such as those in the Middle East and North Africa, although they are also present in some Asian and European countries. In some countries, blasphemy is punishable by death, such as in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia. As of 2015, at least fourteen member states of the European Union maintain criminal blasphemy or religious insult laws. These are Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France (Alsace-Moselle region only), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland only) Turkey also has similar laws. As of 2009 six U.S. states still had anti-blasphemy laws on their books: Massachusetts, Michigan, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, but these are unenforceable.

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 passenger jet aeroplane was rolled out and shown to the public for the first time at the Boeing Everett Factory on September 30 1968. The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport aircraft, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world’s most recognizable aircraft and was the first wide-body ever produced. Manufactured by Boeing’s Commercial Airplane unitin the United States, the original version of the 747 was two and a half times larger in capacity than the Boeing 707, one of the common large commercial aircraft of the 1960s.

The Boeing 747 commercial passenger jet aircraft was First flown commercially in 1970, and held the passenger capacity record for 37 years. The four-engine 747 uses a double deck configuration for part of its length. It is available in passenger, freighter and other versions. Boeing designed the 747’s hump-like upper deck to serve as a first class lounge or (as is the general rule today) extra seating, and to allow the aircraft to be easily converted to a cargo carrier by removing seats and installing a front cargo door. Boeing did so because the company expected supersonic airliners (development of which was announced in the early 1960s) to render the 747 and other subsonic airliners obsolete, while the demand for subsonic cargo aircraft would be robust well into the future.

The 747 was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold, but it exceeded critics’ expectations with production passing the 1,000 mark in 1993. By September 2012, 1,448 aircraft had been built, with 81 of the 747-8 variants remaining on order. The 747-400, the most common passenger version in service, is among the fastest airliners in service with a high-subsonic cruise speed of Mach 0.85–0.855 (up to 570 mph or 920 km/h). It has an intercontinental range of 7,260 nautical miles (8,350 mi or 13,450 km). The 747-400 passenger version can accommodate 416 passengers in a typical three-class layout, 524 passengers in a typical two-class layout, or 660 passengers in a high density one-class configuration. The newest version of the aircraft, the 747-8, is in production and received certification in 2011. Deliveries of the 747-8F freighter version to launch customer Cargolux began in October 2011; deliveries of the 747-8I passenger version to Lufthansa began in May 2012. The 747 is to be replaced by the Boeing Y3 (part of the Boeing Yellowstone Project) in the future.

Hughes AH-64 Apache helicopter

The Boeing/ Hughes AH-64 Apache helicopter first flew on 30 September 1975. The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. Originally, the Apache started life as the Model 77 developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army’s Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra, and was first flown on 30 September 1975. The AH-64 was introduced to U.S. Army service in April 1986. The AH-64 Apache features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30-millimeter (1.2 in) M230 Chain Gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft’s forward fuselage. It has four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods.

he AH-64 has a large amount of systems redundancy to improve combat survivability. The U.S. Army selected the YAH-64, by Hughes Helicopters, over the Bell YAH-63 in 1976, and later approved full production in 1982. McDonnell Douglascontinued production and development after purchasing Hughes Helicopters from Summa Corporation in 1984. The first production AH-64D Apache Longbow, an upgraded version of the original Apache, was delivered to the Army in March 1997. Production has been continued by Boeing Defense, Space & Security; over 1,000 AH-64s have been produced to date.

The U.S. Army is the primary operator of the AH-64; although it has also become the primary attack helicopter of multiple nations, including Greece, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands and Singapore; as well as being produced under license in theUnited Kingdom as the AgustaWestland Apache. U.S. AH-64s have served in conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Israel used the Apache in its military conflicts in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip; both British and U.S. Apaches have seen deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have also seen some impressive demonstrations of theApache’s awesome capabilities at Cosford Air Show.

Hughes AH-64 Apache

Marc Bolan (T.Rex)

The late, great Marc Bolan, English singer/songwriter musician with Glam Rock band T.Rex was Born September 30th 1947. T. Rex were originally Formed in 1967 as Tyrannosaurus Rex, After a solitary performance as a four-piece the group immediately broke up. Bolan retained the services of percussionist Steve Peregrin Took and the duo began performing acoustic material. The combination of Bolan’s acoustic guitar and distinctive vocal style with Took’s bongos and assorted percussion earned them a devoted following in the thriving hippy underground scene which included the late great BBC Radio One Disc jockey John Peel who championed the band early in their recording career. By 1968, Tyrannosaurus Rex had become a modest success on radio and on record, and had released three albums. While Bolan’s early material was rock and roll-influenced pop music, he was also writing dramatic and baroque songs with lush melodies and surreal lyrics filled with Greek and Persian mythology as well as creations of his own. After Bolan replaced Took with percussionist Mickey Finn, they completed A Beard of Stars. As well as progressively shorter titles, Tyrannosaurus Rex’s albums began to show higher production values, more accessible songwriting and experimentation with electric guitars and a true rock sound.

The breakthrough came with “King of the Rumbling Spires” which used a full rock band. The group’s next album, T. Rex, continued the process of simplification by shortening the name, and completed the move to electric guitars. The new sound was more pop-oriented, They released the first single, “Ride a White Swan”, in late 1970 and was followed by a second single, “Hot Love”. Before one performance Mickey Finn’s girlfriend Chelita Secunda add two spots of glitter under Bolan’s eyes before an appearance on Top of the Pops, the ensuing performance would often be viewed as the birth of glam rock which gained popularity in the UK and Europe during 1971–72. In 1971, T. Rex released their second album Electric Warrior which contained one of their best-known song, “Get It On”. and is Often considered to be their best album. it became a top ten hit in the US, where the song was retitled “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” to distinguish it from a 1971 song by the group Chase. However, the album still recalled Bolan’s acoustic roots with ballads such as “Cosmic Dancer” and the stark “Girl” & brought much commercial success to the group, & the term “T. Rextasy” was coined as a parallel to Beatlemania to describe the group’s popularity. Along with David Bowie’s early hits, “Get It On” was among the few British glam rock songs that were successful in the US. This was followed by more glam rock hits during the 1970′s including “Jeepster”, “20th Century Boy”, “Children of the Revolution”, “Hot Love”, “Telegram Sam”, and “Metal Guru”.

On 18 March 1972, T. Rex played two shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley, which were filmed by Ringo Starr and his crew for Apple Films. A large part of the second show was included on Bolan’s own rock film Born to Boogie, while bits and pieces of the first show can be seen throughout the film’s end-credits. Along with T. Rex and Starr, Born to Boogie also features Elton John, who jammed with the friends to create rocking studio versions of “Children of the Revolution” and “Tutti Frutti”; Elton John had appeared on TV with Bolan before, miming the piano part of “Get it On” on the 1971 Christmas edition of Top of the Pops. T. Rex’s third album The Slider was released in July 1972. The band’s most successful album in the US, The Slider was not as successful as its predecessor in the UK, where it peaked at the fourth spot. During spring/summer 1972, Bolan’s old label Fly released the chart-topping compilation album Bolan Boogie, a collection of singles, B-sides and LP tracks, which affected The Slider’s sales. Two singles from The Slider, “Telegram Sam” and “Metal Guru”, became number one hits in the UK. Born to Boogie premiered at the Oscar One cinema in London, in December 1972. The film received negative reviews from critics, while it was loved by fans.

The next album Tanx (1973) was full of melancholy ballads and rich production, And showcased the T. Rex sound bolstered by extra instrumental embellishments such as Mellotron and saxophone. During the recording T. Rex members began to quit, starting with Bill Legend in November 1973. Legend felt alienated by Bolan’s increasingly egotistical behaviour, which was fed by success, money, cocaine, and brandy.the following album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow was released on 1 February 1974, and reached number 12 in the UK. The album harkened back to the Tyrannosaurus Rex days with long song-titles and lyrical complexity, Bolan’s Zip Gun (1975) was self-produced by Bolan who, in addition to writing the songs, gave his music a harder, more futuristic sheen. The final song recorded with Visconti, “Till Dawn”, was re-recorded for Bolan’s Zip Gun with Bolan at the controls. T. Rex’s penultimate album, Futuristic Dragon (1976), featured a schizophrenic production style that veered from wall of sound-style songs to nostalgic nods to the old T. Rex boogie machine. In the summer of 1976, T. Rex released two more singles, “I Love to Boogie” and “Laser Love”, In early 1977 Dandy in the Underworld was released to critical acclaim and the band experienced something of a resurgence. Sadly though Marc Bolan was tragically killed 16 September 1977 after his purple Mini 1275GT crashed into a tree after failing to negotiate a small humpback bridge in, southwest London.

However T. Rex vastly influenced the glam rock, punk rock and Britpop genres. Johnny Marr of The Smiths stated: “The influence of T. Rex is very profound on certain songs of the Smiths like “Panic” and “Shoplifters of the World Unite”. T. Rex are specifically referenced by The Who in the lyrics of their 1981 hit song “You Better You Bet”, by David Bowie in the song “All the Young Dudes” (which he wrote for Mott the Hoople), by B A Robertson in his 1980 hit “Kool In The Kaftan”, and by the Ramones in their song “Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?” The early acoustic material was influential in helping to bring about progressive rock and 21st century folk music-influenced singers. The lyric “Glimmers like Bolan in the shining sun” is featured in My Chemical Romance’s song “Vampire Money”, a direct reference to Bolan, taken from their most recent studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Additionally, Oasis “borrowed” the distinct guitar riff from “Get It On” on their single “Cigarettes and Alcohol”. Noel Gallagher, has also cited T. Rex as a strong influence.

Severn Valley railway Autumn Diesel Bash

The severn valley railway Autumn Diesel Bash takes place from 29 September 2022. This years guest locomotives include class 55 Deltic 55009, Alycidon, courtesy of The Deltic Preservation Society. The Class 46 locomotive BR Class 46 46045 (D182.). Class 56 locomotives 56081 and 56098 courtesy of GB Railfreight. They will be joining Joining the home fleet 40106 Atlantic Conveyor, class 20 20048, class 31 no.31466, class 46 D182, Class 14 D9551, class 50’s no.50033, 50035 Ark Royal, 50049 Defiance, class 52’s 1015 Western Champion, and 1040 Western Queen

D182

31466

40106 Atlantic Convyor

50035 Ark Royal

20048

1015 Western Champion

D9551

50049 Defiance

Mika Häkkinen

Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. Mika Häkkinen was born 28 September 1968 in Vantaa near Helsinki. After success in karting and a near win at the 1990 Macau Grand Prix, Häkkinen joined Lotus in 1991 where he remained until 1992. Häkkinen joined McLaren as a test driver in 1993 initally as a backup for Ayrton Senna and took on the responsibility of race driver after Michael Andretti was dismissed by the team after that year’s Italian Grand prix. In 1994, he became the lead driver after Senna  left to join Williams.

Following a life-threatening injury during qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, Häkkinen made a considerable improvement in 1996 and took his first victory at the 1997 European Grand Prix. Häkkinen won back to back titles in 1998-99. 2000 saw the year that Häkkinen conceded the title to Schumacher with 2001 yelding two victories and the announcement of a sabbatical that later turned into retirement.After retiring from Formula One, Häkkinen has driven in the DTM series where he won three races with Mercedes before retiring in 2007

Herman Melville🐋

Most famous for writing the seafaring novel Moby Dick, American novelist, short story writer And Poet, Herman Melville sadly died 28 September 1891. He was Born 1st August 1819, in New York City. He wrote mainly during the American Rennaissance Period and His first three books, including Typee and Moby Dick, gained much contemporary attention, with Typee, becoming a bestseller). He was the third child of a merchant in French dry-goods, with Revolutionary War heroes for grandfathers. Not long after the death of his father in 1832, his schooling stopped abruptly. After having been a schoolteacher for a short time, he signed up for a merchant voyage to Liverpool in 1839. A year and a half into his first whaling voyage, in 1842 he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands, where he lived among the natives for a month. His first book, Typee (1846) became a huge bestseller which called for a sequel, Omoo (1847). The same year Melville married Elizabeth Knapp Shaw; their four children were all born between 1849 and 1855.

The bulk of his writings was published between 1846 and 1857. Best known for his whaling novel Moby-Dick (1851), he is also legendary for having been forgotten during the last thirty years of his life. Melville’s writing is characteristic for its allusivity. “In Melville’s manipulation of his reading,” scholar Stanley T. Williams wrote, “was a transforming power comparable to Shakespeare’s.” In August 1850, having moved to Pittsfield, he established a profound friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne, though the relationship lost intensity after the latter moved away. Moby-Dick (1851) did not become a success, and Pierre (1852) put an end to his career as a popular author. From 1853 to 1856 he wrote short fiction for magazines, collected as The Piazza Tales (1856). In 1857, while Melville was on a voyage to England and the Near East, The Confidence-Man appeared, the last prose work published during his lifetime. From then on Melville turned to poetry. Having secured a position of Customs Inspector in New York, his poetic reflection on the Civil War appeared as Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866).

In 1867 his oldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. For the epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land (1876) he drew upon his experience in Egypt and Palestine from twenty years earlier. In 1886 he retired as Customs Inspector and privately published some volumes of poetry in small editions. During the last years of his life, interest in him was reviving and he was approached to have his biography written, but his death in 1891 from cardiovascular disease subdued the revival before it could gain momentum. Inspired perhaps by the growing interest in him, in his final years he had been working on a prose story one more time and left the manuscript of Billy Budd, Sailor, which was published in 1924.

The novel Moby Dick features the crew of a doomed whaling vessel called the Pequod, sailing from Nantucket and captained by one legged Captain Ahab, who becomes obsessed with the idea of hunting down and killing a White Whale named Moby Dick, who bit off his leg during a previous encounter. Despite dire warnings from a Native American crew member named Queequay, who foresees doom and the efforts of various crew members, who try to prevent the voyage, their efforts come to no avail and Ahab’s obsession has disasterous and tragic consequences and ends up costing many lives and sinking the ship.

Sadly after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime by the time he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the “Melville Revival” in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick, which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America. Melville sadly passed away on but has left behind some great literature including Moby Dick and many others. Moby Dick has also been adapted for film many times, once with Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab and once with Patrick Stewart in the same role.