Cecil Northrop Biography
During his years as a mariner, Northrop kept extensive diaries (handwritten and typed) where he recorded his impressions of life aboard the ship, foreign ports visited, people he met on his travels, and relationships with friends, family, and love interests. It appears Northrop was compiling some of the manuscripts into essays, and viewed his writing as part of the great sea narrative tradition popularized by Richard Henry Dana in the 1840s.
For the full biographical note and description of the Northrop papers, read the Cecil Northrop Papers finding aid. The collection is held by the Stephen B. Luce Library of SUNY Maritime College.