Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site - History

History

Walt Whitman was born in 1819 in a farmhouse (now a part of the museum) built by his father in the town of Huntington, New York on Long Island. Whitman worked at various times as a printer, a schoolteacher, a journalist, a volunteer nurse during the Civil War, and a newspaper publisher. He eventually authored a book of poetry, Leaves of Grass, which sold poorly when first published but has over time come to be considered a masterpiece of world literature. The museum's web site says: "By the end of his life, Whitman had become the first American poet to achieve international acclaim. Today his poetry is available in every major language and inspires people world wide who find in Whitman the voice and vision of a truly international humanist."

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