Top ten things you didn't know about the Mary Celeste

The Mary Celeste was originally launched in 1861 as Amazon, before she was renamed in 1868

THE ship the Mary Celeste was found on December 4, 1872 in good condition but abandoned drifting in the Atlantic. The mystery has never been solved.

 

1. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a book about the ship in 1894, he called it the Marie Celeste. That misspelling has been common ever since. 

2. The ship was an American brigantine launched in 1861 as Amazon. She was renamed in 1868. 

3. Why the ship was renamed Mary Celeste is unknown. One theory is that she was named after an illegitimate daughter of Galileo, Maria Celeste. 

 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a book about the ship in 1894, misspelling the name

4. Mutiny, piracy and insurance fraud have all been suggested as explanations of the mystery. 

5. More fanciful suggestions have included an attack by a giant squid, an undersea earthquake, paranormal forces and an alien abduction. 

6. An ever more fanciful suggestion is an anagram of Mary Celeste: Met scary eel.

 

There were fanciful tales of the Mary Celeste being attacked by the mythological giant squid

7. Her captain was a 37-year-old devout Christian named Benjamin Briggs. 

8. The last entry in the ship’s log was made 10 days before she was found. The lifeboat was missing. 

9. Nothing was heard again of Captain Briggs or his wife and daughter who were with him, or the ship’s crew. 

10. In 1885 the ship’s new captain deliberately wrecked her in an attempted insurance fraud.