Herman Melville

American, 1819–1891

Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet. His masterpiece Moby-Dick, the tale of Captain Ahab's obsessive hunt for a great white whale, is widely considered one of the greatest novels in American literature. Though a commercial failure during his lifetime, Melville's work was rediscovered in the twentieth century and recognized for its philosophical depth, narrative ambition, and profound exploration of good and evil.