James Bartley - wikipedia James Bartley Not to be confused with Jim Bartley. James Bartley ( 1870 -- 1909 ) is the central figure in a late nineteenth - century story according to which he was swallowed whole by a sperm whale. He was found days later in the stomach of the whale, which was dead from constipation. The story originated of an anonymous firm, began to appear in American newspapers. Apparently the anonymous article started in the St. Louis Globe Democrat of Saint Louis, Missouri. And then the note started to come out in newspapers as `` A Modern Jonah '' The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 2 1891 ( Wheeling, W. Va. ) The news spread beyond the ocean in articles as `` Man in a Whale 's Stomach. `` Rescue of a Modern Jonah '' in page 8 of the August 22, 2017 issue of the Yarmouth Mercury newspaper of Great Yarmouth on England. Contents 1 Story 2 Investigations 3 Cultural references 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Story The story as reported is that during a whaling expedition off the Falkland Islands, Bartley 's boat was attacked by the whale and he landed inside the whale  ́ s mouth. He survived the ordeal and was carved out of the stomach by his peers when they, not knowing he was inside, caught and began skinning the whale because of the hot weather which would have rotted the whale meat. It was said that he was in the whale for 36 hours and it was also said that his skin had been bleached by the gastric juices, and that he was blind the rest of his life. He was, however, supposed to have returned to work within three weeks in some accounts. He died 18 years later and his tombstone in Gloucester says `` James Bartley - a modern day Jonah. '' In 1896, an article named `` A Modern Jonah Proves his Story. '' was published in the New York World quoted a brief portion of this story, as told by Rev. William Justin Harsha, along with some initial observations. This was followed about a week later by another article that briefly summarised some responses from readers, followed by a third article by William L. Stone, who related a similar story involving a massive `` man - eating shark ''. The French scientist De Parville published a report of the alleged incident in the Paris Journal des Débats in 1914. Investigations More recently, the facts were carefully investigated by historian Edward Davis, who pointed out many inconsistencies. The ship in the story is The Star of the East ; a British ship by the same name existed and sailed during the time in which the incident allegedly occurred and could have been near the Falklands at the right time, but the real Star of the East was not a whaling vessel and its crew list did not include a `` James Bartley ''. Moreover, Mrs. John Killam, the wife of the Captain, wrote a letter stating that `` there is not one word of truth in the whale story. I was with my husband all the years he was in the Star of the East. There was never a man lost overboard while my husband was in her. The sailor has told a great sea yarn. '' Davis suggested that the story may have been inspired by the `` Gorleston whale '', a 30 - foot rorqual killed near Great Yarmouth shortly before in June 1891 that generated a lot of publicity. While the veracity of the story is in question, it is physically possible for a sperm whale to swallow a human whole, as they have been known to swallow giant squid whole. Cultural references George Orwell refers to this incident ( twice ) in his 1939 novel Coming Up for Air ( though not in his 1940 essay `` Inside The Whale '' ). Julian Barnes references the event in his novel A History of the World in 101⁄2 Chapters, as did Arthur C. Clarke 's novel Childhood 's End and J.M. Ledgard in his novel Submergence, the latter albeit using a different name, John More, for the swallowed victim. Clive Cussler also refers to the James Bartley story in his novel Medusa. James Bartley was also mentioned in the 1965 `` Jonah and the Whale '' episode of the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea television series. See also Jonah References Jump up ^ ( The original newspaper is in the West Virginia University. But there are more issues as `` A Real Living Jonah '' The Wichita Daily Eagle, August 6 1891 ( Wichita, Kan. ) original at Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, KS ; `` A Modern Jonah '' The Morning Call, July 6 1891 ( San Francisco, Calif. ) University of california, Riverside ; Riverside, CA ; `` The Modern Mr. Jonah '' The Daily Independent, July 14 1891 ( Helena, Mont. ) Montana Historical Society, Helena, MT. ; `` A Real Living Jonah '' Wood County Reporter, July 30 1891 ( Grand Rapids, Wis. ) Wisconsin Historical Society ; `` Swallowed by a Whale '' The Somerset Herald, August 19 1891 ( Somerset, Pa. ) Penn State University Libraries, University Park, PA. At the beginning of this article they wrote : correspondent from the veracious St. Louis Globe Democrat writes from New London, Conn., has just arrived.... And `` ALiving Jonah '' St. Johnsbury Caledonian. September 17 1891 ( St. Johnsbury, Vy. ) University of Vermont. At the end of this another article they wrote : ( New London ( Conn. ) Cor. St. Louis Globe Democrat. ) ^ Jump up to : Edward Davis, A Whale of a Tale : Fundamentalist Fish Stories. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 43 ( 1991 ) : 224 - 37 Jump up ^ Cited in Peggotty, `` Army shot at lost whale, thinking it was German submarine, in River Yare, '' Great Yarmouth Mercury ( 6 May 2016 ) : http://greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/1.4524849 ( Accessed 16 May 2016 ) Jump up ^ Robert B. Durham, `` Modern Folklore '', David Gunston, `` The man who lived in a whale '', Sunday Mail, May 12, 1985, page 15 Jump up ^ Swallowed by a Whale Jump up ^ Cited in `` Personal, '' The New York Times ( 17 November 1896 ) : https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950DE0DE1331E033A25754C1A9679D94679ED7CF ( Accessed 16 May 2016 ) Jump up ^ Cited in `` Topics of the Times, '' The New York Times ( 25 November 1896 ) : https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D02E4DB103BEE33A25756C2A9679D94679ED7CF ( Accessed 16 May 2016 ) Jump up ^ Cited in `` A Shark Story of Great Merit, '' The New York Times ( 4 December 1896 ) : https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9403E2D9103BEE33A25757C0A9649D94679ED7CF ( Accessed 16 May 2016 ) Jump up ^ ( The article `` A Modern Jonah Proves his Story. '' appeared in the newspaper called New York World ( April 12 1896 ), and not in the New York Times as erroneously repeated in several investigations. ( 1 ) Jump up ^ ( Robert B. Durham, `` Modern Folklore '' ) Jump up ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/photogalleries/giant-squid-sperm-whale-pictures/ Jump up ^ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/could-a-whale-accidentally-swallow-you-it-is-possible-26353362/ Jump up ^ J.M. Ledgard ( 2013 ). `` Submergence '', p. 33 - 34. Coffee House Press, Minneapolis. ISBN 978 - 1 - 56689 - 319 - 0. Jump up ^ Robert B. Durham, `` Modern Folklore '' The research about newspapers as `` A Modern Jonah '' The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 02, 1891 from Wheeling, W. Va. ; `` The Modern Mr. Jonah '' The Helena Independent, July 14, 1891, Helena, Mont., `` A Real Living Jonah '' Wood County Reporter, July 30, 1891, Grand Rapids, Wis., ( U.S.A ), and the correction of the article published in the New York World ( April 12, 1896 ) by Jose Castaneda. External links The complete story of James Bartley Truth - Or - Fiction Article on James Bartley Trivia-Library.com Edward T. Babinski, Bachelor of Science, Biology and his research into the James Bartley story `` Have any real - life Jonahs been swallowed by whales and lived ? '' from The Straight Dope, September 14, 2001 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Bartley&oldid=803808866 '' Categories : 1850s births 1902 deaths Urban legends History of the Falkland Islands Talk Contents About Wikipedia עברית Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 4 October 2017, at 19 : 36. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who lived in the belly of a whale
Answer: James Bartley