The details of his biography are obscure. Born at Richmond, Virginia (circa 1800-1854), probably to slave parents, he settled in New Bedford in the 1820s and by 1836 had his own waterfront blacksmith shop, where he specialized in making harpoons, lances, ship’s fittings, and other whalecraft for the burgeoning whale fishery. In 1848, perhaps inspired by centuries-old Eskimo prototypes, he devised a hand-wielded harpoon mounted on a pivot that effectively decreased the likelihood that the harpoon would cut its way loose of the blubber once the whale was “struck.”

Temple’s innovation substantially improved the efficiency of the hunt and was rapidly adopted. However, as he did not patent his invention he made little money on it. Refinements in manufacture subsequently introduced by his competitors, and their ability to produce thousands of toggle-type harpoons at little cost, eclipsed the importance of Temple’s ingenious innovation. Temple died unappreciated and in debt in 1854; but today he is remembered as one of New Bedford’s most enterprising citizens. A life-size statue by sculptor Jim Toatley (1941-1986), posthumously completed by his widow, Linda Toatley, was erected on the lawn of the New Bedford Free Public Library in 1987.