206 years ago today, August 1, 1819 (June 11, 1819 in the lunar calendar), American novelist, essayist and poet Melville was born. Herman Melville (August 1,1819-September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, essayist, and poet. Due to his poor family background, he worked as a farmer, clerk, teacher, sailor, navy, etc., and later became a novelist. He used his sea experience as the basis to write his allegorical masterpiece "Moby Dick"(1851). This novel is considered one of the greatest novels in the United States. British writer Maugham's evaluation of "Moby Dick" in his book "The World's Top Ten Novelists and Their Representative Works" is far higher than other American writers Allan Poe and Mark Twain. Melville died in obscurity and poverty, becoming famous seventy years after the publication of "Moby Dick"; his works also include short stories such as "Bartleby the Clerk"(1856) and the novella "Billy Budd"(published in 1924). He is regarded as one of the greatest American novelists of a century.