Stanton H. (Stanton Henry) King

Born in Barbados in 1867, Stanton H. King went to sea as a boy, reportedly following his brothers into maritime life around 1880. Those early years gave him the experience that later shaped his writing, especially his memoir Dog-Watches at Sea, which looks back on the routines, risks, and humor of life aboard sailing ships.

After leaving the sea, he became associated with Sailors' Haven in Boston, Massachusetts, and went on to serve as its director. He was also known as a chantey singer, and his interest in sailors' songs led to the publication of King's Book of Chanties in 1918.

King died in 1939. Today he is remembered as a distinctive voice of the maritime world: a man who had truly lived the life he described, and who helped preserve both the stories and the music of working sailors.