Chief Joseph (1840–1904) was a famous leader of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest. His native name was Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, meaning "Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain". He led his people through a hard time when the U.S. government tried to take their land.

Captain Ahab from Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick, he is killed by his own whaling harpoon line when he is dragged into the ocean by the white whale.