The Mary Celeste was a 282-ton brigantine discovered adrift in the Atlantic Ocean on December 5, 1872. The ship was fully seaworthy, with sails partially set and a six-month supply of food and water intact.

However, her crew of seven, along with Captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife Sarah, and their two-year-old daughter Sophia, were missing without explanation. Personal belongings, valuables, and the ship's cargo—1,700 barrels of industrial alcohol—remained undisturbed.

The lifeboat was gone, and the last log entry, dated November 25, noted nothing unusual. Despite extensive investigations, no definitive cause for the abandonment was ever proven, making the Mary Celeste one of history's greatest maritime mysteries.