John James Audubon

Diagnoses

Personal

Vocation

Lifestyle

Notable

Family

American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species. Audubon married Lucy Bakewell, and they had two sons: Victor Gifford (1809–1860) and John Woodhouse Audubon (1812–1862); and two daughters who died while still young: Lucy at two years (1815–1817) and Rose at nine months (1819–1820). Both sons would eventually help publish their father's works. John W. Audubon became a naturalist, writer, and painter in his own right. John James Audubon died on 27 January 1851 at age 65 in Manhattan, New York from what is now called Alzheimer's disease, his "noble mind in ruins." On 6 December 2010, a copy of Birds of America was sold at a Sotheby's auction for US $11.5 million, the second highest price for a single printed book. Link to Wikipedia biography