Gann (Ernest) Collection, 1955 August - September

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Scope and content:: This collection contains material pertaining to Gann's ship the Albatros, including black and white photographs, ship blueprints, and copies of ship logs.
Biographical / historical:: Ernest K. Gann was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on October 13, 1910. He lived in St. Paul, Minnesota as a child, graduated magna cum laude from Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana, and attended the Yale School of Drama. He later held a variety of jobs – general manager of Broadway plays, commercial fisherman, cartoonist, commercial pilot, barnstormer pilot, newsreel cameraman, and eventually author and screenwriter. Gann’s first novel, “Island in the Sky,” was published in 1940, and those that followed dealt with flying, sailing, or adventurous historical themes. His novels were translated into successful movies and a television miniseries. In 1954 Gann purchased the 1920s schooner the Albatros. The ship appeared in the 1958 movie "Twilight for the Gods", which was based on one of Gann’s novels. Gann later sold the Albatros to a sailing school, and it sunk in a squall in 1961, killing several passengers. This incident was the subject of the 1996 film "White Squall". Ernest Gann lived in Pebble Beach until 1965, when he moved to the San Juan Islands in Washington State.
Acquisition information:: Donated by Steven Gann

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by Harrison Memorial Library staff.
Date Prepared:: 1955 August - September
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on April 17, 2025, 11:28 a.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Materials are open for research.
Terms of access:: The Henry Meade Local History Room, Harrison Memorial Library does not hold copyright to these items. Permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder by the user.

Location of this collection:: Harrison Memorial Library

P.O. Box 800

Mission St & 6th Ave

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921, US