Townsend’s Logbook Data

The data presented here are from Charles Haskins Townsend’s extractions from whaling logbooks. They include information on the location of whales based on a sample of logbooks from voyages made between 1784 and 19?? The data represent roughly half of those originally used by Townsend to create whaling charts.

Complete information about the content and structure of the database is available in the Database Description and the Column Definitions, Code Tables and Usage Notes. We plan on updating the database annually. You are encouraged to submit additions and corrections through the submission form.

Small subsets of the data may be printed or downloaded directly from the table below. Read The Data Viewer Interface for instructions. For research purposes, the complete database may be downloaded for processing on your local computer.