ATLANTIC OCEAN — 1872 · Missing Person
The Ghost Ship Mary Celeste
The American-registered merchant ship Mary Celeste sailed from New York for Genoa on 7 November 1872 with a cargo of alcohol. Ten people were aboard: Captain Benjamin Briggs, his family and seven crew. On 4 December 1872 the Canadian vessel Dei Gratia found the Mary Celeste drifting under partial sail off the Azores. The ship was seaworthy, with ample provisions and the cargo and personal belongings undisturbed, but the lifeboat was missing and no one was aboard. The last log entry was ten days old. The salvage hearings in Gibraltar considered mutiny, piracy and insurance fraud, but found no evidence. None of those aboard was ever heard from again.
- Date
- 1872
- Place
- Off the Azores, Atlantic Ocean, PT
- Category
- Missing Person
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 38.3333, -17.2500 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 7 November 1872Mary Celeste sailed from New York for Genoa.
- 25 November 1872The last log entry was written.
- 4 December 1872Dei Gratia found the ship deserted off the Azores.
- 1873The salvage hearings in Gibraltar proved inconclusive.
Sources
- The New York Times (25 March 1873) — Mary Celeste report timesmachine.nytimes.com ↗
- Wikipedia — Mary Celeste en.wikipedia.org ↗
- The New York Times (1873)
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
Categories
Collections
🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.