Nathaniel Philbrick
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Philbrick is an American
author and a winner of the National Book Award
for his 2000 work of maritime history In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
. He is member of the Philbrick
literary family.
, Massachusetts
. He currently lives in Nantucket, Massachusetts
. He is married to Melissa Douthart Philbrick, the Executive Director of Remain Nantucket.
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, earned his bachelor's degree in English at Brown University
, and his master's degree in American literature at Duke University
.
Philbrick was Brown’s first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978; that year he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, Rhode Island.
He moved to Nantucket, Massachusetts
in 1986, and is a leading authority on the history of the island.
(1984), for which he was the editor-in-chief; during this time he was also the primary caregiver for his two children. After moving to Nantucket in 1986, he became interested in the history of the island and wrote Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People. He was offered the opportunity to start the Egan Maritime Institute in 1995.
In 2000 he published In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
. This was followed by Sea of Glory: America’s Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, in 2003. In 2006, Philbrick published a new history of the founding of the Plymouth colony in the United States, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn was published in May 2010. He is presently at work on a book about Boston
during the early years of the Revolution
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author and a winner of the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for his 2000 work of maritime history In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is a National Book Award winning work of maritime history by Nathaniel Philbrick. It tells the story of the Whaleship Essex from the point of view of Thomas Nickerson who was a fourteen-year-old cabin boy on the Essex. The book is based...
. He is member of the Philbrick
Philbrick
*George A. Philbrick of George A. Philbrick Researches pioneered the commercial production of the operational amplifier.The Philbrick family has a strong New England literary tradition. Each of the members listed below was educated at Brown University and has been published:* Nathaniel Philbrick*...
literary family.
Life
Nathaniel Philbrick was born June 11, 1956 BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He currently lives in Nantucket, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He is married to Melissa Douthart Philbrick, the Executive Director of Remain Nantucket.
Education
Philbrick graduated from Taylor Allderdice High SchoolTaylor Allderdice High School
Taylor Allderdice High School, also referred to by the Pittsburgh Public Schools as “Pittsburgh Allderdice” or informally by students as "Dice", is a public high school located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh’s East End. Allderdice is the "largest of the Pittsburgh Public Schools'...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, earned his bachelor's degree in English at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, and his master's degree in American literature at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.
Philbrick was Brown’s first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978; that year he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, Rhode Island.
Family
Philbrick is married to Melissa Douthart Philbrick, who is Executive Director of Remain Nantucket. They have two children Jennie and Ethan.He moved to Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket...
in 1986, and is a leading authority on the history of the island.
Career
After graduate school, Philbrick worked for four years at Sailing World magazine; was a freelancer for a number of years, during which time he wrote/edited several sailing books, including Yaahting: A ParodyYaahting
Yachting, A Parody was a 1984 parody of the boating magazine genre, most notably Yachting. It was published by Dreadnaught Publishing, a short lived Massachusetts based company...
(1984), for which he was the editor-in-chief; during this time he was also the primary caregiver for his two children. After moving to Nantucket in 1986, he became interested in the history of the island and wrote Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People. He was offered the opportunity to start the Egan Maritime Institute in 1995.
In 2000 he published In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is a National Book Award winning work of maritime history by Nathaniel Philbrick. It tells the story of the Whaleship Essex from the point of view of Thomas Nickerson who was a fourteen-year-old cabin boy on the Essex. The book is based...
. This was followed by Sea of Glory: America’s Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, in 2003. In 2006, Philbrick published a new history of the founding of the Plymouth colony in the United States, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn was published in May 2010. He is presently at work on a book about Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
during the early years of the Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.