Complex sentence: The ship, captained by George Pollard, Jr., was widely known for being attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in the southern Pacific Ocean in 1820--an incident that served as inspiration for Herman Melville's 1851 novel, "Moby-Dick".
Split into simpler sentences: The ship, captained by George Pollard, Jr., is widely known for being attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in the southern Pacific Ocean in 1820. The incident served as inspiration for Herman Melville's 1851 novel, "Moby-Dick".