By the time he was in his 40’s, John James Audubon was prosperous and world famous
By the time he was in his 40’s, John James Audubon was prosperous and world famous. But not before having to overcome lots of adversity. Born Jean Jacques Audubon in the French colony of Sainte Domingue (now Haiti), he was the illegitimate child of a French sea captain/plantation-owner and a chambermaid. His mother died when he was only a few months old and at age 6 Jean was taken to France, where he was adopted and raised by his father’s wife. Jean’s father had hoped the boy would become a naval officer, following in his footsteps, but Jean was a failure at military and naval training. So, to keep him from being conscripted into Napoleon’s army, Jean’s father acquired forged identity papers for the boy and sent him to America. On the way over Jean adopted the anglicized version of his name: John James Audubon. In America, after surviving a bout of yellow fever, John met and fell in love with Lucy Bakewell, eventually marrying her. John was a brilliant and gifted man, but he faile...