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John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851), born Jean-Jacques Audubon, was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his extensive studies documenting 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. ==Early life== Jean-Jacques Audubon was born in Les Cayes in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti)〔Nelson, Randy F. ''The Almanac of American Letters''. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1981: 26. ISBN 0-86576-008-X〕 on his father's sugar plantation. He was the son of Lieutenant Jean Audubon, a French naval officer (and privateer) from the south of Brittany,〔 and his mistress Jeanne Rabine,〔Sometimes, it is written "Rabin"〕 a 27-year-old chambermaid from Les Touches, Brittany (now in the modern region Pays de la Loire).〔(Rhodes, Richard ''John James Audubon: The Making of an American'' ), New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004, p. 4, accessed 26 April 2011.〕〔Souder, 2005, p. 18〕 They named the boy Jean Rabin.〔 His mother died when the boy was a few months old, as she had suffered from tropical disease since arriving on the island. His father already had an unknown number of mixed-race children (among them a daughter named Marie-Madeleine),〔DeLatt, Carolyne E., ''Lucy Audubon: A Biography'' (LSU Press, 2008), page 21〕 some by his mulatto housekeeper, Catherine "Sanitte" Bouffard〔 (described as a quadroon, meaning she was three-quarters European in ancestry).〔Rhodes, John James Audubon (2004), p. 6〕 Following Jeanne Rabin's death, Jean Audubon renewed his relationship with Sanitte Bouffard and had a daughter by her, named Muguet. Bouffard also took care of the infant boy Jean.〔Souder, 2005, p. 19〕 The senior Audubon had commanded ships. During the American Revolution, he had been imprisoned by Britain. After his release, he helped the American cause.〔Alice Ford, ''Audubon By Himself'', The Natural History Press, Garden City, NY: 1969, p. 4〕 He had long worked to save money and secure his family's future with real estate. Due to slave unrest in the Caribbean, in 1789 he sold part of his plantation in Saint-Domingue and purchased a 284-acre farm called Mill Grove, 20 miles from Philadelphia, to diversify his investments. Increasing tension in Saint-Domingue between the colonists and the African slaves, who greatly outnumbered them, convinced Jean Audubon to return to France, where he became a member of the Republican Guard. In 1791 he arranged for his natural children Jean and Muguet, who was majority-white in ancestry, to be transported and delivered to him in France.〔Rhodes, JJ Audubon (2004), p. 6〕〔Souder, 2005, p. 20〕〔Shirley Streshinsky, ''Audubon: Life and Art in the American Wilderness'', Villard Books, New York, 1993, ISBN 0-679-40859-2, p. 13〕 The children were raised in Couëron, near Nantes, France, by Audubon and his French wife Anne Moynet Audubon, whom he had married years before his time in Saint-Domingue. In 1794 they formally adopted both his natural children to regularize their legal status in France.〔 They renamed the boy Jean-Jacques Fougère Audubon and the girl ''Rose''.〔Stanley Clisby Arthur, ''Audubon" An Intimate Life of the American Woodsman'' (Pelican Publishing, 1937), page 478〕 When Audubon, at age 18, boarded ship in 1803 to immigrate to the United States, he changed his name to an anglicized form: John James Audubon.〔Rhodes, ''John James Audubon'' (2004), pp. 3–4〕 From his earliest days, Audubon had an affinity for birds. "I felt an intimacy with them...bordering on frenzy () must accompany my steps through life."〔Rhodes, 2004, p. 22〕 His father encouraged his interest in nature: He would point out the elegant movement of the birds, and the beauty and softness of their plumage. He called my attention to their show of pleasure or sense of danger, their perfect forms and splendid attire. He would speak of their departure and return with the seasons.〔Ford, 1969, p. 3〕 In France during the chaotic years of the French Revolution and its aftermath, the younger Audubon grew up to be a handsome and gregarious man. He played flute and violin, and learned to ride, fence, and dance.〔Rhodes, 2004, p. 5〕 A great walker, he loved roaming in the woods, often returning with natural curiosities, including birds' eggs and nests, of which he made crude drawings.〔Streshinsky, 1993, p. 14〕 His father planned to make a seaman of his son. At twelve, Audubon went to military school and became a cabin boy. He quickly found out that he was susceptible to seasickness and not fond of mathematics or navigation. After failing the officer's qualification test, Audubon ended his incipient naval career. He was cheerfully back on solid ground and exploring the fields again, focusing on birds.〔Streshinsky, 1993, p. 16–17〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John James Audubon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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