John James Audubon

Artist and Ornithologist

Nov 20, 2006 Mary Trotter Kion

John James Audubon, artist and ornithologist, traveled America drawing birds of North America, of which were published in several volumes.

Illegitimate Son of a Frenchman

John James Audubon, artist and ornithologist, was born in Les Cayes, Santo Domingo, now Haiti, on April 26, 1785.

He was the illegitimate son of Lt. Jean Audubon of the Royal French Navy and a Creole woman.

Audubon was originally named Fougere Rabin, a name he hated and always tried to conceal. In about 1794 his father took him to Nantes in France, where he was accepted by the seaman's childless wife and was legally adopted. When he was sixteen he was baptized as Jean Jacques Fougere Audubon.

From Paris to America

During the years of growing up, Audubon had one passion-drawing birds. He studied for a time at the studio of Jacques Louis David, in Paris.

In 1803, Audubon came to America to manage his father's lead mines at Mill Grove, on Perkiomen Creek, in southeastern Pennsylvania. That same year Audubon became the first person known to have tried bird banding in America when he tied silver threads around the legs of young phoebes.

As a Kentucky Businessman

Also in 1803 he met his neighbor's daughter, Lucy Bakewell, who was only fifteen at the time. Audubon and Lucy were married in 1808 and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. where Audubon and a business partner set up a general store.

In spite of having now become a businessman, Audubon's passion still remained that of drawing birds. While his partner spent most of his time absorbed in the account books, Audubon spent his time out in the woods searching for specimens, and Lucy spent hers rearing the children. This often resulted in no one minding the store.

John James Audubon continues with From Poverty to Painter: Audubon Paints Portraits and Riverboats.

The copyright of the article John James Audubon in American History is owned by Mary Trotter Kion. Permission to republish John James Audubon in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.