Samuel Samuels
Designer and captain
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Captain Samuel S. Samuels (8 March 1823 – 18 May 1908) was a 19th-century American sea captain best known for command of the famous clipper ship the Dreadnought.[1] The fastest sailing ship of the time was quite famous and Captain Samuels was also renowned as the captain and designer of the ship. In 1859 he set a new record for New York to Liverpool of only 9 days, 17 hours.[2] Twice Captain Samuels sailed faster than steamer ships which were increasingly popular for freight during this time.
Samuel S. Samuels | |
|---|---|
Samuel Samuels, designer and captain of the Dreadnought. Print from a wood engraving. | |
| Born | March 8, 1823 Philadelphia, US |
| Died | May 18, 1908 (aged 85) Brooklyn, New York, US |
| Occupations | Designer, Sea captain |
He was born in Philadelphia on 8 March 1823. According to his autobiography, works of James Fenimore Cooper and Frederick Marryat inspired him to run away to sea at the age of 11.[3] As a youth Samuels is shanghaied onto a ship bound for Liverpool. He learns the skills of the seaman, becomes an officer, and then a captain by age twenty-one.[4]
Samuels was captain of James Gordon Bennett Jr.'s yachts Henrietta and Dauntless in famous races in 1866 (Great Ocean Yacht Race), 1870 and 1887.[5][6] After his 1866 win, Bennett bought the rival yacht, the Fleetwing, for $65,000.[7]
In 1887 he released his autobiography From the Forecastle to the Cabin, published by Harper & Brothers. In the book he described all of the topics one would expect from the golden age of the sailing era: storms, shipwrecks, famine, disease, press-gangs, desertion, piracy, violence, mutiny. He also tells the story of meeting his future wife, Miss Harriet Alice Steele.[8]
He died on 18 May 1908 at age 85 in Brooklyn, New York.