Two Years Before the Mast

Richard Henry Dana (1815-1882) was born on August 1, 1815, he was the grandson of Francis Dana an American Diplomat that accompanied John Adams to Paris. He contacted measles while at Harvard College. The disease weakened his eyesight and caused his to withdraw from Harvard. In 1834 his health returned and he signed on as a seaman voyaging to California by way of Cape Horn. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and in that year published Two Years Before the Mast. He became a defender of the rights of seaman and gave free legal advice to blacks captured under the Fugitive Slave Law. He died on January 6, 1882.