Hart Crane was an
American poet who found fame in the late 1920’s and early 30’s. Crane visited
Mexico in 1931 via a Guggenheim Fellowship. Crane drank a great deal and his
drinking continued and got worse as he suffered from bouts of alternating
depression and elation, or as we might call it now, bipolar disorder. Despite
his new found status, Crane still looked at himself and saw failure. While on
board a steamship, with the destination being New York, it was said that just
before noon on April 27, 1932, he jumped overboard into the Gulf of Mexico. He
had been drinking heavily and witnesses said that he exclaimed "Goodbye,
everybody!" before throwing himself overboard. His body was never
recovered. There is a marker on the tombstone of his father that includes the
inscription, "Harold Hart Crane 1899–1932 lost at sea"
