John James Audubon Timeline


                                    April 26, 1785  John James Audubon is born to Captain Jean Audubon and his mistress Jeanne Rabine at Les                                      Cayes, Haiti.  He is given the name Jean Rabine.  Six months after his birth, his mother dies. 

                            March 1796  At the age of eleven, young Audubon goes to Rochefort-sur-Mer for Naval Training.

                            March 1803  Audubon is sent to Pennsylvania in the United States by his father.  The purpose of this is to take him                             away from the conflict in France and to manage his father's Mill Grove farm that was purchased.  Audubon also                                     meets and becomes engaged to his neighbor, Lucy Bakewell.

                            June 1810  Alexander Wilson, known ornithological illustrator, encourages Audubon to continue with his drawings.                              While the Audubons relocate to Henderson, Kentucky, John James Audubon and Ferdinand Rozier journey South                                 searching for financial success.

                            1811  Audubon and Rozier part their separate ways due to little success and personality differences.  Audubon now                             returns back home to his family.

                            1812  The family transfers to Pennsylvania and on July 3, Audubon receives U.S. Citizenship.  Lucy gives birth to                                 their second child, John Woodhouse, on November 30 of this year.

                            1815  The Audubon's first daughter, Lucy, is born.

                            1817  Lucy, their daughter, dies.

                            1819  This year saw his arrest and imprisonment on debtors charges.  Audubon declares bankruptcy and survives by                             drawing charcoal portraits on commission.  Another daughter, Rose, died shortly after birth.

                            1831  Audubon again returns to the United States and meets John Bachman in South Carolina.  Bachman becomes the                             scholar in Audubon's work and his sister-in-law becomes Audubon's assistant.

                            1840  Audubon begins work on two new projects named The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America and the                                     smaller edition of The Birds of America.

                            1842  The family moves to their other property in New York City which is now West 155th Street and Riverside                                 Drive.

                            1851  Audubon dies on January 27 at the age of 65.

                            1886  George Bird Grinnell, formally a pupil of Lucy Audubon, founded the first Audubon Society.



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