John James Audubon
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John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter who lived from 1785 to 1851. He is remembered for his detailed illustrations and scientific study of birds, which made significant contributions to the understanding and documentation of avian species.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1785
- Died
- 1851
- Works
- 170
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 47
- Total plays
- 478
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Article
John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American artist, entrepreneur, naturalist, explorer, and ornithologist. His combined interests in painting and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictorial record of all the bird species of North America. He was notable for his extensive studies of American birds and for his detailed (yet romantic) illustrations, which were engraved in Scotland and England for a large-format (double-elephant folio) color-plate (intaglio) book titled The Birds of America (1827–1838), and five volumes of accompanying text entitled Ornithological Biography (1831–1839).
Audubon's scientific contributions were considerable but controversial. He was accused of fraud, plagiarism, and scientific misconduct during his life as well as posthumously. As of 2025, the IOC World Bird List (v.15.1) attributes him as the primary author of 23 bird species (14 of which were based on specimens he purchased or received from colleagues) and 13 subspecies. This tally is an overestimate because it includes at least one ambiguous species (Traill's flycatcher, Muscicapa traillii) that was recently stabilized (as willow flycatcher) with a neotype, and one subspecies (northern bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis) that was based on a plagiarized image and fabricated data. Another of Audubon's new subspecies (northern Harris's hawk, Parabuteo unicinctus harrisi) was based on a stolen specimen.
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1785 births1851 deaths19th-century American illustrators19th-century American male artists19th-century American male writers19th-century American naturalists19th-century American painters19th-century American zoologistsAmerican adopteesAmerican bird artistsAmerican botanical illustratorsAmerican fellows of the Royal Society