Philosopher (T&J Harrison)

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Philosopher (T&J Harrison)

Post by shipstamps » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:54 pm



Built 1857 by Thos Vernon & Sons, Liverpool. She was the first vessel ordered by the Harrisons and their partners that was built of iron, and also the first vessel to be named for a trade or profession, the start of a tradition that was to become a hallmark of the company.
23rd June 1869 she sailed from Calcutta with a consignment of 120 horses, of which 33 died on the passage which lasted 55 days.
She was lengthened in 1875. During the period 1870 to 1879, Philosopher was occasionally employed in the Coolie trade, carrying indentured labourers from Calcutta to the sugar plantations of Demerara, Surinam and the West Indies.
On 26th September 1879 she was wrecked at the mouth of the Daya River on the coast of Orissa, India whilst on a voyage from Calcutta to Boston Mass., with general cargo. Half of her crew were lost.
(Detail from “Harrisons of Liverpool” by Graeme Cubbin.)

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