William Lewis Herndon, an American naval officer, born in Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 25, 1813, lost at sea, Sept. 12, 1857. He entered the navy at the age of 15, served in the Mexican war, and was engaged for three years in the national observatory at Washington. In 1851-'2 he explored the Amazon river under the direction of the United States government. The route selected by him was from Lima across the Cordillera eastward as far as Tarma, and thence N. to Tingo Maria on the Huallaga, whence by canoe he reached the great stream. During a portion of the journey he was accompanied by Lieut. Lardncr Gibbon. A narrative of the expedition is contained in "Exploration of the Valley of the River Amazon," with maps and plates (2 vols., Washington, 1853-'4), the first part of which is by Herndon, and the second by Gibbon. In 1857 he was commander of the steamer Central America, which left Havana for New York on Sept. 8, having on board 474 passengers and a crew of 105, and about $2,000,000 of gold. During a violent gale from the northeast and a heavy sea, on Sept. 11, she sprung a leak, and sank on the evening of Sept. 12, near the outer edge of the Gulf stream, in lat. 31° 44' N. All the women and children on board were put in the boats and saved, with a few men.

Herndon and 426 others sank with the vessel.