Edward Ellsberg(1891-1983)
- Writer
American naval officer and novelist Edward Ellsberg was born in New
Haven, CT, in 1891. When he was a year old his family moved to Denver,
CO, where he grew up. He took an early interest in sailing and the sea,
and while a freshman at the University of Colorado in 1910 he secured
an appointment to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, graduating in
1914. He was assigned as Assistant Navigator on the USS Texas, later
becoming the ship's torpedo officer, turret officer and defense officer
for the broadside torpedo defense batteries. In 1916 he was assigned to
the Naval Construction Corps, later being transferred to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to take a two-year course
in naval architecture.
When the US entered World War I in 1917, Ellsberg was assigned to the Brooklyn (NY) Navy Yard, in charge of reconditioning and refitting seized German passenger liners as troop transports. He later was assigned to the fitting and operation of minesweepers. In 1918 he was assigned to help in the construction of the battleship USS Tennessee. In 1920 he became Planning Superintendent at the Boston (MA) Navy Yard.
In 1925 the US Navy submarine S-1 sank, and Ellsberg was assigned as Salvage Officer in the eventually successful effort to recover the sub from the ocean floor. The next year Ellsberg resigned his commission in the navy and went to work for an oil company as its chief engineer. In 1927 the US submarine S-4 was rammed and sank, and Ellsberg was temporarily called back into the navy to help in that craft's recovery. He resigned from the oil company in 1935 and became an independent consulting engineer. He and his wife eventually retired to Westfield, NJ, where he was for many years a member of the local Board of Education.
He began writing stories centered on the sea and the ships that sail them as early as 1916, when he sold a story to the "Youth's Companion" magazine. His first novel, "Pigboats", appeared in 1929 and was made into a successful motion picture (Hell Below (1933)).
When the US entered World War I in 1917, Ellsberg was assigned to the Brooklyn (NY) Navy Yard, in charge of reconditioning and refitting seized German passenger liners as troop transports. He later was assigned to the fitting and operation of minesweepers. In 1918 he was assigned to help in the construction of the battleship USS Tennessee. In 1920 he became Planning Superintendent at the Boston (MA) Navy Yard.
In 1925 the US Navy submarine S-1 sank, and Ellsberg was assigned as Salvage Officer in the eventually successful effort to recover the sub from the ocean floor. The next year Ellsberg resigned his commission in the navy and went to work for an oil company as its chief engineer. In 1927 the US submarine S-4 was rammed and sank, and Ellsberg was temporarily called back into the navy to help in that craft's recovery. He resigned from the oil company in 1935 and became an independent consulting engineer. He and his wife eventually retired to Westfield, NJ, where he was for many years a member of the local Board of Education.
He began writing stories centered on the sea and the ships that sail them as early as 1916, when he sold a story to the "Youth's Companion" magazine. His first novel, "Pigboats", appeared in 1929 and was made into a successful motion picture (Hell Below (1933)).