George Worthylake

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George Worthylake (d. November 3, 1718) was the first lighthouse keeper in what was to become the United States. He was also the first to die in the line of duty.

Worthylake was hired as keeper of the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island by the General Court of Massachusetts, at a salary of £50 a year; he was admonished that any dereliction of duty would cost him £100. Besides keeping the light burning from sundown to sunup, he was also expected to serve as a harbor pilot. Worthylake would live on the island with his wife, Ann, and two daughters, Ann and Ruth. He is also known to have kept a flock of sheep on Great Brewster Island; these drowned in a storm in 1717.

On November 3, 1718, Worthylake, his wife, his daughter Ruth, and a friend were returning to the lighthouse after going into Boston to collect pay; upon arrival near the island, the family slave rowed out in a canoe to take them to the station. On the return trip, the canoe capsized. Worthylake, his wife, his daughter, the friend, and the slave drowned while Ann and a friend watched from shore. Benjamin Franklin memorialized the event in his poem "Lighthouse Tragedy"; he hawked copies of the poem, printed by his brother, in the streets. A single copy, whose authenticity is unknown, survives.

Worthylake, his wife, and his daughter are buried under an unusual triple headstone in Copps Hill Burying Ground.