Herman Melville

Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.

1 August 1819

Born on the same birth day (1 August): Andy Blignaut • Björn Ferry • George Habash • Grant Wooden • Isobel Lilian Gloag • Jason Momoa • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck • Lee Wallace • Meena Kumari • Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen

Born in the same month (August 1819): Allan Pinkerton • Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, Duchess of Leuchtenberg • Julius van Zuylen van Nijevelt • Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha • Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet