Artist. Indelibly linked with the painting of birds, Audubon was the son of a French sea captain and his Creole mistress. Educated in his father’s native France, he had spent a disastrous year at a military school before studying art in Paris with the great David. At age 18 he emigrated to the United States, where he set out for the frontier. An excellent shot and horseman, Audubon could also dance with grace and perform parlor tricks, but his one obsession was painting birds. In the course of his travels he met Daniel Boone, and at one point co-owned a Kentucky sawmill with George Keats, brother of the famed English poet. This and various other business ventures were doomed to failure, however, for he subordinated everything to the pursuit of his art.  His passion eventually rewarded him with fame and fortune when “The Birds of North America” began publication in 1846. The celebrated artist-frontiersman later bought a tract of land along the Hudson River in upper Manhattan, and afterwards donated part of it for the cemetery in which he is now buried. (bio by: Nikita Barlow)  Family links:  Spouse:  Lucy Bakewell Audubon (1787 – 1874)*  Children:  Victor Gifford Audubon (1809 – 1860)*  John Woodhouse Audubon (1812 – 1862)*  Lucy Audubon (1815 – 1817)*  Rosa Audubon (1819 – 1820)* *Calculated relationship