Herman Melville, who penned the iconic opening line "Call me Ishmael." was born on August 1, 1819, in New York City. He was one of America’s greatest novelists, though he lived much of his life without the recognition that later generations would grant him. Today he is celebrated chiefly for his masterpiece, Moby-Dick, and Melville is now ranked alongside writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, and William Faulkner. Melville dedicated Moby-Dick to Hawthorne, whose psychological depth and moral complexity profoundly influenced the novel. His voyages aboard merchant and whaling ships took him to the South Pacific and profoundly shaped his imagination. Some memorable quotations: It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. Ignorance is the parent of fear. We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. And a line from Moby-Dick that captures Melville’s mixture of courage and acceptance in the face of the unknown: “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.”