Historedia
AmericasEvent

Margaret Fuller dies in shipwreck off Fire Island

When
1850
Where
sandbar less than 100 yards from Fire Island
Episodes
2

Margaret Fuller died on July 19, 1850, when the ship Elizabeth struck a sandbar near Fire Island, New York. The vessel, carrying her family and a manuscript on the Roman Republic, was wrecked during a return voyage from Italy. All three family members perished, and her literary work was lost.

Episodes

  1. July 19, 1850 · sandbar less than 100 yards from Fire IslandShipwreck off Fire Island

    The ship Elizabeth struck a sandbar near Fire Island, New York, on July 19, 1850, killing Margaret Fuller, her husband, and their son.

  2. July 19, 1850 · sandbar less than 100 yards from Fire IslandLoss of Manuscript

    Fuller's manuscript on the Roman Republic, considered her most valuable work, was lost in the shipwreck.

Background and detail

Background. Margaret Fuller, an American journalist and advocate, traveled to the United States in 1850 with her husband Ossoli and their son Angelino. They departed Italy after the fall of the Roman Republic, believing it safer to flee. The group boarded the merchant freighter Elizabeth, which carried cargo including marble from Carrara.

The Voyage. The family began a five-week return voyage in May 1850. The ship Elizabeth was an American merchant freighter. The captain was possibly an inexperienced first mate. The vessel struck a sandbar less than 100 yards from Fire Island on July 19, 1850, around 3:30 a.m. Many passengers and crew abandoned ship.

Literary Loss. Fuller had prepared a book on the history of the Roman Republic, which she considered her most important work. This manuscript, described as "what is most valuable to me if I live of any thing," was lost in the shipwreck. Her death prompted immediate calls for a biography.

People involved

Sources

  1. Margaret Fuller Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-25
  2. Fire Island Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-23

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.