Edward Ellsberg

Edward Ellsberg, OBE (November 21, 1891 – January 24, 1983) was an officer in the United States Navy and a popular author. He was widely known as "Commander Ellsberg".

Early years Ellsberg was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Colorado. He was one of the very few Jews who were accepted into the United States Naval Academy, which graduated him with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1914. He earned his Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1920. He received an honorary Eng.D. from University of Colorado at Boulder in 1929.

First service with the U.S. Navy Ellsberg was commissioned in the navy in 1914 and served on active duty until 1926. He became an expert in undersea salvage and rescue. In 1926, he raised the navy submarine, S-51. For that success he was promoted to the rank of commander by an Act of Congress and awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Navy Department, since which time he has been popularly known as "Commander Ellsberg", regardless of his rank. Ellsberg described the raising of the S-51 in his 1929 book, On the Bottom.

On June 1, 1918, Ellsberg married Lucy Buck. In letters to her he signed his name as "Ned". Lucy Ellsberg bore their daughter Mary on 29 August 1921.

Return to civilian status

After leaving active duty, Ellsberg worked for the Tide Water Oil Company and began writing books about his exploits and about historical events.

In December 1927, Ellsberg volunteered for active duty to rescue survivors trapped in the sunken submarine S-4. The rescue efforts failed and Ellsberg returned home in early January 1928.

Ellsberg's 1931 book, Pigboats, inspired the 1933 movie, Hell Below, starring Robert Montgomery, Robert Young, Walter Huston, and Madge Evans.

His book Hell on Ice was adapted for an episode of Orson Welles's The Mercury Theatre on the Air that aired October 9, 1938, on CBS Radio. An adaptation was also presented on Welles's The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air, broadcast August 9, 1946.

Decorations Rear Admiral Ellsberg's ribbon bar:

Publications Writing was an Ellsberg hobby. He wrote many articles and reports. His books include the following: Report on Salvage Operations: Submarine S-51. (Washington: US GPO, 1927) On the Bottom. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1929) Thirty Fathoms Deep. Fiction, The first in a trilogy of salvaging gold from the Santa Cruz shipwreck, (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1930) Pigboats. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1931)Adapted for the movie Hell Below (1933) S-54, Stories of the Sea. ( New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1932) Ocean Gold. The second in a trilogy of salvaging gold from the Santa Cruz shipwreck, (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1935) Spanish Ingots. The third in a trilogy of salvaging gold from the Santa Cruz shipwreck, republished under the titles "Submarine Treasure" & "Treasure Below". (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1936) Hell on Ice: The Saga of the 'Jeannette. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1938)See the article on the USS Jeannette (1878) Men Under the Sea. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1939) Treasure Below. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1940) Captain Paul. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1941)I Have Just Begun To Fight!' the Story of John Paul Jones. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1942) Under the Red Sea Sun. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1946) No Banners, No Bugles. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1949) Cruise of the Jeannette, 1949, about the Jeannette Expedition Passport for Jennifer. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Compney, 1952) Mid Watch, a Novel. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1954) The Far Shore. (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1960)

See related John Alden. Salvage man : Edward Ellsberg and the United States Navy. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998) "Ellsberg, Edward". The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1942). F:116–117. "Ellsberg, Edward 1891–". Contemporary Authors, 5–8 (First Revision):347–348. 1969. "Ellsberg, Edward 1891–". Something About the Author, 7:78–79. 1975. "Edward Ellsberg, Naval Salvage Expert, Dies" New York Times. January 26, 1983. Page 17.