<Li> Frances (1855--1938) </Li> <Tr> <Th> Signature </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> Herman Melville (August 1, 1819--September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period . His best known works include Typee (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel Moby - Dick (1851). His work was almost forgotten during his last 30 years . His writing draws on his experience at sea as a common sailor, exploration of literature and philosophy, and engagement in the contradictions of American society in a period of rapid change . He developed a complex, baroque style; the vocabulary is rich and original, a strong sense of rhythm infuses the elaborate sentences, the imagery is often mystical or ironic, and the abundance of allusion extends to biblical scripture, myth, philosophy, literature, and the visual arts . </P> <P> Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a merchant in French dry goods . His formal education ended abruptly after his father died in 1832, leaving the family in financial straits . He briefly became a schoolteacher before he took to sea in 1839 as a sailor on a merchant ship . In 1840, he signed aboard the whaler Acushnet for his first whaling voyage but jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands . He returned to Boston in 1844 after further adventures . </P>

Who was the first known author in the history of western literature