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William Badger (May 26, 1752 – February 22, 1830) was a master shipbuilder operating in Kittery, Maine, United States who built more than 100 vessels. ==Life and career== The eldest of six children, he was born to William Badger and Anstisa Emerson Badger at what is now Newfields, New Hampshire.〔(William Badger Papers -- The Portsmouth Athenæum )〕 Trained by master shipbuilder Colonel James K. Hackett at John Langdon's shipyard on Rising Castle Island (or Langdon's Island) in Kittery, he helped build the USS ''Ranger''. In 1782, he worked with Hackett to complete the USS ''America''. About 1788, Badger established a shipbuilding business with David Colcord and Stilmon Tarleton on the Squamscott River at Newfields, but returned to work with Hackett from 1794 until 1799 as a master carpenter on the USS ''Crescent'' and USS ''Congress''.〔(Naval Sailing Warfare History -- William Badger )〕 In 1797, Badger acquired 3 acres (1.3 hectares) on Rising Castle Island from his wife's family. He built a house and began shipbuilding on what would thereafter be called Badger's Island.〔 In 1800, Commodore Isaac Hull, commander of the new Portsmouth Naval Shipyard down the Piscataqua River on Fernald's Island, contracted William Badger and his nephew Samuel Badger to build a 74-gun ship of the line. Dissatisfied with the latter shipwright, however, Hull fired both Badgers in November. A dozen years then passed at the federal shipyard without the completion of a single vessel. Hull rehired William Badger in 1813, and the USS ''Washington'', first ship produced at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, launched in 1814.〔(Dictionary of American Fighting Ships -- William Badger )〕 Meanwhile, upriver at his own shipyard, Badger was constructing approximately two ships a year, including naval vessels, merchant vessels and privateers, while also repairing others. He entered shipping, owning the brig ''Fanny'' between 1816-1822, and half-owning at least 17 other vessels, most of which he had built.〔 Between 1801-1850, shipbuilding was the principal industry in the Piscataqua region, where shipbuilders altogether made about 9 vessels per year, each averaging 200 tons. But William Badger, generally called Master Badger, achieved the greatest renown. He died in 1830 after a long illness, and was buried on the island which bears his name. The USS ''William Badger'', a whaling ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, was named after him, an honor reserved for his 100th vessel built in 1829. 〔(The Ship ''America'' and John Paul Jones )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Badger (shipbuilder)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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