Harold Augustin Calahan (November 7, 1889 – November 25, 1965) or H. A. Calahan was a lieutenant commander in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and an author on sailing.
["Harold Augustin Calahan, 76, Yachtsman and Author, Dead", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', November 27, 1965.
He was born in Brooklyn and attended
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
for his
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
,
M.S.
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
and his law degree. In 1917 he was working at an advertising agency, and he later married Gladys Britton. He died of a heart attack in 1965 in
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populat ...
and was buried in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
on November 30, 1965.
He is known for writing the novel ''Back to Treasure Island'' (1935), a sequel to
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
's ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
''. He strongly argued that Stevenson had in mind to write such a story.
Author
* ''Learning to Sail'' (1932)
* ''Learning to Race'' (1934)
* ''Back to Treasure Island'' (1935)
* ''Yachtsman's Omnibus: Learning to Sail, Learning to Race, Learning to Cruise'' (1935)
* ''Wind and Tide in Yacht Racing'' (1936)
* ''Ships's Husband: A Guide to Yachtsmen in the Care of Their Craft'' (1937)
* ''Gadgets and Wrinkles: A Compendium of Man's Ingenuity at Sea'' (1938)
* ''So You're Going to Buy a Boat'' (1939)
* ''Rigging'' (1940)
* ''What makes a war end?'' (1944)
* ''Learning to Cruise'' (1945)
* ''Geography for grown-ups'' (1946)
* ''Sailing technique'' (1950)
* ''The Heavens As a Guide: The Sky and the Sailor; A History of Celestial Navigation (1952)
[C. B. Palmer, rev. of ''The Heavens As a Guide'', ''New York Times Book Review'', November 23, 1952, p. 50: "The pronouncements of H. A. Calahan in his books on nautical matters -- they number a dozen or so -- are not always accepted as gospel among sailors, but it's doubtful that he ever wrote a word that hasn't been read with interest."]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calahan, Harold
1889 births
1965 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American children's writers
American adventure novelists
American sportswriters
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers