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"
