Ann Alexander (ballenero)

The Ann Alexander was a whaling ship from New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA, which was rammed and sunk on August 20, 1851 by a wounded sperm whale near the Galapagos Islands.

After the whale had already destroyed two of the boat's jaws with its jaws, the boat was drilled under the waterline and abandoned. The crew was rescued on 22 August 1851 by the vessel Nantucket (whaler).

The sinking of the ship contributed to the success of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. The same Melville commented in a letter to Evert Duyckinck, on the news of the shipwreck due to a whale, 7 of November of 1851:

Oh gods! What a good commentator this Ann Alexander whale! What you have to say is brief, juicy and very appropriate. I wonder if my devilish art has summoned that monster.

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