The Dark Frigate

Charles Boardman Hawes (1889–1923) was an American author of adventure sea stories and historical novels for children, best known for The Dark Frigate (1923), which posthumously won the Newbery Medal as the first U.S.-born recipient, and The Great Quest (1921), a runner-up for the inaugural Newbery. Born in Clifton Springs, New York, he worked as a magazine editor before his sudden death from pneumonic meningitis at age 34 in Springfield, Massachusetts, after publishing works like The Mutineers (1920) and Gloucester, by Land and Sea (1923). His stories drew comparisons to Stevenson, Dana, and Melville for their vivid maritime adventures.