Walt Whitman – whose poems "Song of Myself," "O Captain! My Captain," and "I Sing The Body Electric" are oft anthologized – was born on Long Island in 1819. The poet, whose free verse extolled the virtues of nature and individuality, broke all the rules held dear by his contemporaries and helped redefine American literature forever. Whitman no doubt would find great irony in the fact that the quaint cottage wherein he was born is now surrounded by urban sprawl. The home has been preserved to appear as it did when Whitman and his family inhabited it. Credit cards accepted for minimum purchase of $15.