12 September 1857(1857-09-12) (aged 43) Atlantic Ocean, east of South Carolina
Allegiance
United States
Service/branch
United States Navy
Years of service
1828–1857
Rank
Commander
Commands held
USS Iris USS Potomac USS San Jacinto SS Central America
Battles/wars
Mexican–American War
Commander William Lewis Herndon (25 October 1813 – 12 September 1857) was one of the United States Navy's outstanding explorers and seamen. In 1851 he led a United States expedition to the Valley of the Amazon, and prepared a report published in 1854 and distributed widely as Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon.
He was noted especially for ensuring the rescue of 152 women and children when commanding the commercial mail steamer Central America in September 1857. During a three-day hurricane off the coast of North Carolina, the ship lost power. Herndon arranged for getting some women and children safely off the ship to another vessel. With no way to save the ship, Herndon chose to stay with more than 400 passengers and crew who drowned as the ship sank off Cape Hatteras on September 12. It was the largest loss of life in a commercial ship disaster in United States history.
Ellen Herndon Arthur in 1859.
Two years later, his daughter Ellen Lewis Herndon married Chester A. Arthur, the future U.S. president.[1]
^Reeves, Thomas C. (1975). Gentleman Boss. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 20. ISBN 0-394-46095-2.
and 20 Related for: William Lewis Herndon information
Commander WilliamLewisHerndon (25 October 1813 – 12 September 1857) was one of the United States Navy's outstanding explorers and seamen. In 1851 he...
Ellen LewisHerndon, called "Nell," was born in the town of Culpeper Court House, Virginia on August 30, 1837, the daughter of WilliamLewisHerndon and...
monument's base, facing the Naval Academy Chapel, is a plaque: Commander WilliamLewisHerndon 1818-1857 Naval Officer - Explorer - Merchant Captain In command...
Panamanian port of Colón, sailing for New York City under the command of WilliamLewisHerndon. The ship was laden with 10 short tons (9.1 t) of gold prospected...
painted on the side of Gallaghers Traditional Pub in Birkenhead. WilliamLewisHerndon, captain of the sinking SS Central America Ida Straus – a passenger...
publication by two young USN lieutenants WilliamLewisHerndon (vol. 1) and Lardner A. Gibbon (vol. 2). Herndon split the main party in two so that he and...
paddle-wheel box that killed his youngest son Willie. September 12, 1857: WilliamLewisHerndon was in command of the commercial mail steamer Central America when...
was the second son of Ellen LewisHerndon and Chester A. Arthur. Ellen was the daughter of explorer WilliamLewisHerndon. He was born on July 25, 1864...
to him: James Melville Gilliss, Lieutenants John Mercer Brooke, WilliamLewisHerndon, Lardner Gibbon, Isaac Strain, John "Jack" Minor Maury II of the...
demolished in 1922. The hotel was originally named for Lieutenant WilliamLewisHerndon of the U.S. Navy whose exploration of the Amazon River in the early...
Northern Colombia Bjarni Herjulfsson Norse Viking 10th North America WilliamLewisHerndon American 19th Amazon basin Herodotus Greek 5th BC Near East, Middle...
S2CID 30557398. Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon Vol. I by Lieutenant WilliamLewisHerndon (1853) chapter 14, p. 285 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary...
the drought-stricken northeast of Brazil. 1851–1852 – Lieutenant WilliamLewisHerndon and Lieutenant Lardner Gibbon (U.S. Navy) on the Amazon to Belém...
on United States Navy Commander WilliamLewisHerndon, for whom the town was named, and artifacts from the USS Herndon (DD-198), from World War II, and...
War of 1812. Herndon Monument. The Monument was commissioned by the officers of the U.S. Navy as a tribute to Commander WilliamLewisHerndon (1813–1857)...
Fontaine Maury married his first cousin, Ann Hull Herndon, sister of Captain WilliamLewisHerndon, who died on his ship SS Central America[citation needed]...
drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain WilliamLewisHerndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California Gold...
Global Information
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