Q 01/05

Where was Herman Melville born on August 1, 1819?

A) Boston

B) Manhattan

C) Albany

D) Nantucket

Answer · why

B) Manhattan

Manhattan was home, where his father imported French goods, until the business collapsed and the family moved upriver to Albany in 1830. He was born H...

Q 02/05

Melville's paternal grandfather, Major Thomas Melvill, joined which famous event of America's founding years?

A) The Boston Tea Party

B) The Constitutional Convention

C) The signing of the Declaration

D) Washington's crossing of the Delaware

Answer · why

A) The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party sent Major Thomas Melvill home with tea leaves caught in his shoes. The leaves were kept, and they are now on display at the Old ...

Q 03/05

Melville's mother, Maria Gansevoort, came from an old New York family of what descent?

A) Dutch

B) French

C) German

D) Scottish

Answer · why

A) Dutch

Dutch settlers founded her line, and Herman was baptized by a Dutch Reformed minister. Her father, General Peter Gansevoort, had held Fort Stanwix thr...

Q 04/05

Melville's father died in debt in 1832, two years after his import business collapsed and he began trading in what?

A) Whale oil

B) Cotton

C) Furs

D) Lumber

Answer · why

C) Furs

Furs were his last gamble, made in Albany, and he died deep in debt. His eldest son, Gansevoort, took over the fur and cap business, and Herman left s...

Q 05/05

After his father's death, young Melville worked as a clerk at what kind of institution?

A) A bank

B) A law office

C) A newspaper

D) A shipping firm

Answer · why

A) A bank

A bank in Albany took him on as a clerk at twelve. He left to join his brother in the family business, and when that failed in 1837 the hunt for work ...