Whaling was prosperous and created unique prospects.  Howland Island was charted in the Pacific by whaling captains in 1828. Howland Island would later become the missed landing zone for famed flyer Amelia Earhart. By the 1850s, the Howland family, among other prominent Quakers of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was emerging amongst the leadership in American banking businesses, global trade, and textile operations.  William D. Howland proudly established a powerful textile corporation in the 1880s. Howland Mill Corporation revolutionized community planning and reformed labor conditions as a local competitor to Berkshire Hathaway.