Felix Riesenberg (9 April 1879 – 19 November 1939) was an American maritime officer and writer of maritime professional, historical, and fictional literature in the early 20th century.

Biography

Riesenberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He later attended the

New York Nautical School State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fi ...

graduating in the class of 1897. Afterward, he secured a position as a deck officer in the merchant marine, being part of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and also serving in the Naval Reserve until 1909. Riesenberg was hired by Walter Wellman to be a part of the support crew in an unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole by airship in the summer of 1906. He was rehired by Wellman the following year to be the navigator aboard the three man airship ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

'' in a second failed attempt to reach the North Pole in 1907. After this, Riesenberg enrolled and graduated from the Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1913. Riesenberg worked as a

civil Engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

for New York State from 1913 to 1915 and then again from 1920 to 1922. In the interim, he was the

Chief Officer A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...

of the United States Shipping Board. Riesenberg was the superintendent of the

on two occasions, from 1917 to 1919 as Commander of the barkentine "Newport" and again from 1923 to 1924. Riesenberg was also a prolific author, publishing a textbook, ''Standard Seamanship for the Merchant Service'' that became commonly used, as well as several maritime historical works and novels. He wrote several articles that appeared in the magazine '' The Nation''. Riesenberg published his memoir ''Living Again'' in 1937. Riesenberg died 19 November 1939 in Scarsdale, New York. After a funeral service held in Bronxville his ashes were scattered at sea. He had four children, Felix Jr., William, Margaret (Peggy), and John (Jack). Priscilla was Felix Jr's wife. His son Felix Jr. (1913–1962) was also an author of numerous maritime books. The New York Nautical School is today called "Maritime College" and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Present day cadets are still taught the 'Riesenberg Saying': "The sea is selective; slow at recognition of effort and aptitude, but fast in sinking the unfit."

Selected bibliography

* ''Under Sail: A Boy's Voyage Around Cape Horn'' - 1918''Under Sail'' was published by The Macmillan company in 1918. See also: * ''Standard Seamanship for the Merchant Service'' - 1922 * ''Bob Graham at Sea'' - 1925 * ''Vignettes of the Sea'' - 1926 * ''East Side, West Side'' - 1927, turned into a film of the same name also released in 1927 * ''Red Horses'' - 1928 * ''Shipmates: Sketches of the Sea'' - 1928 * ''Endless River'' - 1931 * ''The Maiden Voyage'' - 1931 * ''Passing Strangers'' - 1931 * ''Skyline'' - 1931, a film screenplay also based upon the 1927 novel ''East Side, West Side'' * ''Mother Sea'' - 1933 * ''Log of the Sea'' - 1933 * ''The Left-Handed Passenger'' - 1935 * ''Living Again : an Autobiography'' - 1937 * ''Cape Horn : the story of the Cape Horn region, including the straits of Magellan, from the days'' - 1939 * ''The Pacific Ocean'' - 1940 (published posthumously)

Honors

The was a type EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship built at

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...

and delivered to the United States Merchant Marine 26 December 1944 that was named in Riesenberg's honor. Following World War II she was sold to a private company in 1947 and finally scrapped in 1972. In the 1940s, a sail training

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, New York was renamed the ''Felix Riesenberg'', having previously been named the ''Rhine''. On the campus of State University of New York Maritime College Riesenberg Hall, which houses the athletic department, was dedicated 6 May 1965 to honor Riesenberg. Riesenberg Hall contains a gymnasium and a natatorium, it hosts the college's basketball, volleyball, and swimming & diving events. In 2001, Felix Riesenberg was inducted into the

National Maritime Hall of Fame The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchan ...

at Kings Point.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riesenberg, Felix 1879 births 1939 deaths Presidents of the State University of New York Maritime College Writers from Milwaukee People from Scarsdale, New York Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni United States Merchant Mariners American sailors American maritime historians 20th-century American memoirists American male screenwriters American explorers Burials at sea American historians American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Wisconsin 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters