Thomas Gibson Nickerson (March 20, 1805 – February 7, 1883) was an American sailor and author. In 1819, when he was fourteen years old, Nickerson served as cabin boy on the whaleshipEssex. On this voyage, the ship was sunk by a whale it was pursuing, and the crew spent three months at sea before the survivors were rescued. In 1876 he wrote The Loss of the Ship "Essex", an account of the ordeal and of his subsequent experiences at sea. The manuscript was lost until 1960, and was first published in 1984.
Nickerson was born in Harwich, Massachusetts, the son of Rebecca (Gibson) and Thomas Nickerson.[1] Nickerson made his first sea voyage in 1819, at the age of fourteen, on the ill-fated whaler Essex, which sailed from Nantucket Harbor. A whale rammed and sank Essex on November 20, 1820. The first mate, Owen Chase, later wrote about the incident in the Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, a book that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick.
Nickerson returned to sea after his rescue, serving on other whale ships and eventually working his way up to captain of a merchant vessel. Upon retiring he ran a boarding house in Nantucket, which was visited by the writer Leon Lewis, who encouraged him to write down his story of the three months he was lost at sea with the Essex survivors. Nickerson did this, and in 1876, he sent an 80-page manuscript, as well as accounts of other adventures he had later in life, to Lewis for editing. Lewis, however, was having a personal crisis and the manuscript was abandoned.[2] When Lewis journeyed to England, he left a trunk in the care of Rhea Ogden, a neighbor at his summer cottage on Lake Keuka, near Penn Yan, New York. The trunk containing the manuscript was later given by Ogden to her nephew, James M. Finch, Jr. of Hamden, Connecticut. Nickerson died in 1883, seven years after sending his manuscript to Lewis. The trunk's contents were finally inspected in 1960 and The Loss of the Ship "Essex" Sunk by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats was discovered. Finch's wife Ann, recognizing the manuscript's importance, contacted the Nantucket Historical Association. It took another twenty years before it was authenticated by Edouard A. Stackpole, a Nantucket whaling historian. The Finches donated the manuscript to the Association, who published an abridged version in 1984, a century after Nickerson's death.[2]
In popular culture
Books
The 1851 novel, Moby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman Melville, which has been adapted several times for film, theatre and radio.
Nickerson's historical character was dramatized in three films:
A 2001 dramatized documentary, entitled Revenge of the Whale, was produced and broadcast on September 7, 2001, by NBC, in which Thomas Nickerson was voiced by actor Jeffrey Carlson.[4]
In 2013, the television movie The Whale was broadcast on BBC One on December 22, wherein an elderly Thomas Nickerson recounted the events of Essex. The elder Nickerson was played by Martin Sheen, and the younger Nickerson by Charles Furness.
thomas, nickerson, president, santa, railroad, atsf, thomas, gibson, nickerson, march, 1805, february, 1883, american, sailor, author, 1819, when, fourteen, years, nickerson, served, cabin, whaleship, essex, this, voyage, ship, sunk, whale, pursuing, crew, spe. For the president of the Santa Fe Railroad see Thomas Nickerson ATSF Thomas Gibson Nickerson March 20 1805 February 7 1883 was an American sailor and author In 1819 when he was fourteen years old Nickerson served as cabin boy on the whaleship Essex On this voyage the ship was sunk by a whale it was pursuing and the crew spent three months at sea before the survivors were rescued In 1876 he wrote The Loss of the Ship Essex an account of the ordeal and of his subsequent experiences at sea The manuscript was lost until 1960 and was first published in 1984 Thomas NickersonNickerson c 1870BornThomas Gibson Nickerson 1805 03 20 March 20 1805Harwich Massachusetts U S DiedFebruary 7 1883 1883 02 07 aged 77 OccupationSailorKnown forCrewmate of whaleship EssexNotable workThe Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats Sketch of Essex being struck by a whale on November 20 1820 Sketched later in life by Thomas Nickerson Contents 1 Overview 2 In popular culture 2 1 Books 2 2 Movies 3 ReferencesOverview EditNickerson was born in Harwich Massachusetts the son of Rebecca Gibson and Thomas Nickerson 1 Nickerson made his first sea voyage in 1819 at the age of fourteen on the ill fated whaler Essex which sailed from Nantucket Harbor A whale rammed and sank Essex on November 20 1820 The first mate Owen Chase later wrote about the incident in the Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale Ship Essex a book that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick Nickerson returned to sea after his rescue serving on other whale ships and eventually working his way up to captain of a merchant vessel Upon retiring he ran a boarding house in Nantucket which was visited by the writer Leon Lewis who encouraged him to write down his story of the three months he was lost at sea with the Essex survivors Nickerson did this and in 1876 he sent an 80 page manuscript as well as accounts of other adventures he had later in life to Lewis for editing Lewis however was having a personal crisis and the manuscript was abandoned 2 When Lewis journeyed to England he left a trunk in the care of Rhea Ogden a neighbor at his summer cottage on Lake Keuka near Penn Yan New York The trunk containing the manuscript was later given by Ogden to her nephew James M Finch Jr of Hamden Connecticut Nickerson died in 1883 seven years after sending his manuscript to Lewis The trunk s contents were finally inspected in 1960 and The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats was discovered Finch s wife Ann recognizing the manuscript s importance contacted the Nantucket Historical Association It took another twenty years before it was authenticated by Edouard A Stackpole a Nantucket whaling historian The Finches donated the manuscript to the Association who published an abridged version in 1984 a century after Nickerson s death 2 In popular culture EditBooks Edit The 1851 novel Moby Dick or The Whale by Herman Melville which has been adapted several times for film theatre and radio In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick 2000 partly based on Nickerson s account 3 Movies Edit Nickerson s historical character was dramatized in three films A 2001 dramatized documentary entitled Revenge of the Whale was produced and broadcast on September 7 2001 by NBC in which Thomas Nickerson was voiced by actor Jeffrey Carlson 4 In 2013 the television movie The Whale was broadcast on BBC One on December 22 wherein an elderly Thomas Nickerson recounted the events of Essex The elder Nickerson was played by Martin Sheen and the younger Nickerson by Charles Furness In 2015 the theatrical film In the Heart of the Sea was released directed by Ron Howard The older Thomas Nickerson is portrayed by Brendan Gleeson and the young Nickerson is played by Tom Holland References Edit Philbrick Nathaniel 2001 In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex Penguin pp 302 ISBN 9780141001821 a b Thomas Nickerson 2000 Thomas Philbrick ed The loss of the ship Essex sunk by a whale Penguin p 83 ISBN 0 14 043796 7 Philbrick Nathaniel 2001 In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex Penguin Books ISBN 0 14 100182 8 Revenge of the Whale 2001 at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Nickerson amp oldid 1090231157, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
