Mayhew Folger

Mayhew Folger (March 9, 1774 – September 1, 1828) was an American whaler who captained the sealing ship Topaz that rediscovered the Pitcairn Islands in 1808, whilst one of HMS Bounty's mutineers was still living.

Mayhew was born on March 12, 1774, in Nantucket, Massachusetts, the second child of William Folger and Ruth Coffin.

[1] Mayhew Folger captained the ship Topaz that left Boston on April 5, 1807, hunting for seals.

At that time, only one of the original HMS Bounty mutineers, Alexander Smith, whose real name was John Adams, was still alive.

Captain Folger also related an account of the discovery to a friend, Captain Amasa Delano, who published it in his book, A Narrative of Voyages and Travels in 1817; the narrative is also included in the book Pitcairn's Island, written by Charles Nordoff and James Hall.