1763: Amasa Delano born in Duxbury, Massachusetts on February 21,
the 1st son of Samuel Sr. and Abigail Drew.
1764: Amasa's sister Nancy born in Duxbury (age 1)
1765: Steam Engine introduced (age 2).
1765: HMS Victory launched (age 2).
1765: Amasa's sister Irene born in Duxbury (age 2)
1767: Amasa's brother Alexander born in Plymouth (age 4)
1769: Amasa's brother Samuel Jr. born in Duxbury (age 6).
1770: Boston Massacre - 5 people killed when British fire on mob (age 7).
1771: Amasa's sister Abigail born in Plymouth (age 8).
1771: Amasa's brother Alexander dies at age 4 (age 8).
1772: The Delano family removed to Braintree where Samuel Sr.
attended to ship building, supposing that the vicinity of
the place to Boston would render the business more certain
and lucrative. There they remained only about two years, as
the interruption of navigation, occasioned by the disputes
between Great Britain and the colonies, operated
unfavourably to his employment (age 9).
1772: Judge Murray decrees that slaves are free on landing in
England (age 9).
1772-1775: Antarctica circumnavigated by James Cook (age 9 to 12).
1773: Boston Tea Party (age 10).
1774: 1st Continental Congress meets (age 11).
1774: The family returns to Duxbury. The citizens there were
unanimously opposed to the measures of the British
ministry, and discovered a great ardour in the cause of
liberty. Amasa would not rest easy at home. Though only
about 12 years of age, he visited the camp at Roxbury, and
spent much time there, witnessing the military movements of
the then infant army (age 11 to 12).
1775: Amasa's sister Nancy born in Duxbury (age 12).
1775-1783: American Revolutionary War against the British (age 12 to 20).
1775-1782: British war in India (age 12 to 19).
1776: Declaration of Independence (age 13).
1777: At a time when his father was a prisoner on board the
"Rainbow", a British man-of-war, information was received
that Burgoyne had advanced from Montreal to Lake Champlain
with a large army, had taken Ticonderoga, and was marching
towards Albany, probably with a plan to join the British
army from New York, somewhere on the Hudson River. The
people in the northern states were greatly and justly
alarmed. New recruits were called for by the provincial
congress, and great numbers marched to join the army under
General Gates to oppose Burgoyne. Young Amasa, came forward
to enlist; he marched to Boston with many others of his
fellow townsmen, under the command of Captain Joseph
Wadsworth of Duxbury, then of the Continental Army, "a
brave and meritorious officer". But on his arrival in
Boston, he met his father returning from captivity at
Halifax, who, to the boy's great mortification, insisted on
his leaving this military corps and accompanying him home
to Duxbury. Being under age, he was obliged to submit. He
was very much disappointed and mortified in being thus
deprived of an opportunity of performing the daring feats
of a true-blooded Yankee (age 14).
1778: It is believed that Amasa passed the winter in attending a
private school, for at this age he had become ambitious of
acquiring information from books as well as from the world.
The following summer, at age fifteen, he served several
months in the militia, under General Heath, and belonged to
the troops who guarded some captured British soldiers at
Prospect Hill in Cambridge (age 14).
1778: France joins war against Britain (age 15).
1778: Congress forbids import of slaves into America (age 15).
1778: Amasa's sister Elizabeth is born in Duxbury (age 15).
1779: In the summer of 1779, in company with several other young
men, Amasa went to Boston, and entered on board the
privateer "Mars", and sailed one cruise in her which
continued till the following spring. The inclemency of the
season was the cause of much exposure and suffering, and
great complaint was made, we know not how justly, of the
severity and cruelty of the officers of the privateer. His
spirits and constitution seemed to be broken down, and his
health was so much injured that it was many months after
his return before he recovered his former strength and
activity. For a considerable period he remained at home,
more contentedly than formerly. Afterwards, his wishes led
him again to the ocean. He was very averse, however, from
privateering, and always spoke with decision against the
practice (age 16).
1780: Benjamin Franklin discovers electricity (age 17).
1781: Entered on board a merchant ship, the "Russell", belonging
to Messrs. R. & J. Leach of Salem, and made a voyage to
Cape Francois in the West Indies. The French fleet, under
command of Count D'Grasse was then in that port, and he
assisted in towing the fleet out of that place, when it
sailed to the Chesapeake. An embargo had been laid on all
merchant vessels then at Cape Francois, which lasted for
six weeks. The season proved very sickly, and great numbers
died of the prevailing fever. It was supposed that all
tropical fruit was injurious, and, if used at all, on this
account, was eaten with great caution and very sparingly.
But Amasa is said to have subsisted almost entirely on it,
and to have eaten it in great quantities at all times
without any bad effects. He was alike careless in guarding
against wet and cold, exposing himself to the severest
weather without additional garments. And this manner of
living seemed rather to strengthen than to impair his
constitution (age 18).
1781: Uranus discovered (age 18).
1782: Amasa and his father the brig "Peacock" for E. Parsons Esq.
of Boston, and in this vessel he afterwards sailed to
Martinique and Puerto Rico in the West Indies, to Virginia,
and to Bilboa in Spain. While on board the "Peacock" in the
harbour of Boston, he narrowly escaped drowning, having
fallen overboard in the night, as he was on deck
endeavouring to keep the vessel secure during a very
violent storm (age 19).
1783-1786: Amasa works as a shipbuilder (age 20 to 23)
1783: 1st working hot air balloon (age 20).
1783: Amasa's brother William is born in Plymouth (age 20).
1786: First attempts at indoor lighting with gas (UK, Germany) (age 23).
1786: The Dollar is adopted (age 23).
1787: Constitution is approved by the constitutional congress (age 24).
1787: Pennsylvania enters the union - 1st (age 24).
1787: Delaware enters the union - 2nd (age 24).
1787: New Jersey enters the union - 3rd (age 24).
1788: Connecticut enters the union - 4th (age 25).
1788: Virginia enters the union - 5th (age 25).
1788: New York enters the union - 6th (age 25).
1788: South Carolina enters the union - 7th (age 25).
1788: Maryland enters the union - 8th (age 25).
1788: New Hampshire enters the union - 9th (age 25).
1788: Massachusetts enters the union - 10th (age 25).
1788: Georgia enters the union - 11th (age 25).
1788: Constitution goes into effect (age 25).
1788: On his return from St. Ubes to Boston, Amasa was cast away
on Cape Cod (December 28). He lost everything he had.
Undertakes to raise and repair a vessel lying in the
Taunton River on behalf of some Boston Merchants, but the
ship's damage is too great to repair successfully (age 25).
1789: North Carolina enters the union - 12th (age 26).
1789-1796: George Washington selected 1st President (age 26 to 33).
1789: US Army Established (age 26).
1790: Sails from Boston on the Massachusetts (age 27).
1790: Rhode Island enters the union - 13th (age 27).
1790: Coast Guard Established (age 27).
1790: 1st official US census (age 27).
1791: Vermont enters the union -14th (age 28).
1791: Federal Bill of rights adopted (age 28).
1791: Sails with Commodore John McClure on the English ship
Panther in April. Arrives in the Babuyan Islands, north
Philippines, May 14. Leaves for Palau Islands on May 18
(age 28).
1792: Kentucky enters the union - 15th (age 29).
1792: Denmark 1st to forbid trade in slaves (age 29).
1792: Amasa leaves Timor March 24; Christmas Island, April 2;
April 28, near Bengkulu, Sumatra. Sails August 17; arrives
at Jakarta, on the island of Java, September 16 (age 29).
1792: Captain George Whytock's ship the "Rodney" is wrecked at
Marshfield. Amasa's brother Samuel risks his own life to
save the passengers, and is awarded a gold medal by the
Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (age 29).
1792-1815: Napoleonic war (age 29 to 52).
1793: Marie Antoinette beheaded (age 30).
1793: Eli Whitney invents Cotton Gin (age 30).
1793: Returns to Palau Islands January 20. Amasa transfers to
McClure's smaller vessel, the Endeavor. Returns to Canton
through Taiwan Strait. Arrives at Macau and Canton in
March. Amasa leaves McClure expedition with intention of
returning to Boston. Sails on the American ship Eliza,
bound for Holland, April 10. Spends weeks beating a way
south through the China Sea to the Sunda Strait and the
Indian Ocean. Reaches Mauritius on July 10. He is held up
there for months, finally leaving Mauritius on board the
Hector, February 1794. With a new partner, Captain Stewart,
Amasa sails for Bombay, by way of Mahé Island, Seychelles;
along the coasts on the northern Arabian Sea; then
southeast to Bombay, arriving end of April. Not long
afterwards, Amasa, with Stewart in the Hector, sails
southeast along the Malabar coast to the Coromandel coast,
southeast India. Stops at Madras; then on to Calcutta.
Amasa and Stewart seek refuge at Serampore, about 18 miles
upriver from Calcutta. The ship Hector is sold (age 30).
1794: US Post Office Established (age 31).
1794: US Navy Established (age 31).
1794: Slavery abolished in French colonies (age 31).
1794: In late summer or early autumn, Amasa, nearly penniless,
sails for Boston with Captain Jeremiah Stewart on the Three
Brothers, from Calcutta. Arrives Boston the latter part of
the year (age 31).
1796-1800: John Adams elected 2nd president of US (age 33 to 37).
1796: Vaccination against Smallpox introduced (age 33).
1796: France's presses get right of free speech (age 33).
1796: Tennessee enters the union - 16th (age 33).
1797: Amasa's sister Nancy dies in Duxbury at age 22 (age 34).
1798: US Marine Corps Established (age 35).
1798: Lithography introduced (age 35).
1798-1800: Undeclared war with France (age 35 to 37).
1799: Rosetta Stone found (age 36).
1799: Leaves Boston November 10, 1799, in the ship Perseverance,
to sail around Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean. In the early
part of voyage, languishes for some time in the equatorial
doldrums. Lands at St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks. Passes
west of the Fernando de Noronha Islands and reaches the
Falkland (Malvinas) Islands January 1800. At Strait Le
Maire February 8; against heavy seas, rounds Cape Horn
March 12 (age 36).
1799: Reaches Juan Fernández Islands March 26, and Más Afuero on
March 31. In the course of this second voyage, as well as
the third, Amasa visits the coastal and island possessions
of both Peru and Chile many times. Main ports of call in
Chile are Concepción, Talcahuano, Valparaíso, Coquimbo.
Principal islands visited are Santa Maria, the San Ambrosio
and San Felix Islands, Juan Fernández Islands, and the Bird
Islands. In Peru, the ports of Lima and Callao, Pisco Bay,
and various islands (age 36).
1800-1809: Thomas Jefferson elected president of US (age 37 to 46).
1800: US capital moves from Philadelphia to Washington DC (age 37).
1800: Russia annexes Georgia (age 37).
1801-1802: Departs Hawaiian Islands on December 20, 1801, for Canton.
Sails between Mariana Islands; passes south of Taiwan
Strait. Leaves Canton for home April 1802. Arrives in
Mauritius June 5, and departs July 23. Arrives in Boston
November 1, 1802 (age 38 to 39).
1802: Babylonian cuneiform deciphered (age 39).
1803: Fulton propels vessel by steam power (age 40).
1803: Ohio enters the union - 17th (age 40).
1803: Louisiana Territory Purchased (age 40).
1803: Amasa Delano and the widow Hannah Appleton(?) are married
in Providence, Massachusetts. The couple have no children
together (age 40).
1804: Arrives King Island, Bass Strait, Australia, on March 3.
Remains in Australian and Tasmanian waters until October
23. Sails for the southwest cape of New Zealand, passes
"The Snares" November 1804, and the Bounty Islands,
southeast of New Zealand, on November 7. The Perseverance
and the Pilgrim rendezvous at Más Afuera in the Juan
Fernández Islands. Arrives Bay of Pisco the end of 1804
(age 41).
1805: Thomas Jefferson re-elected president of US (age 42).
1805: Morphine isolated (age 42).
1805: Encounters and captures the Spanish ship Tryal. This
episode later becomes the well-known "Benito Cereno" by
Herman Melville (age 42).
1806: Leaves Lima March on 27; spends time sealing at Lobos
Islands, and leaves there June 21. Arrives Galapagos
Islands on the 27th, and remains one month. Arranges for
the Pilgrim to remain at seal work for another season,
until September 4, 1807. The Perseverance continues on to
Canton via Hawaiian Islands, where the ship arrives on
September 8, provisions there, and sails September 30.
Arrives in Macau November 10, 1806 (age 43).
1807: Leaves Macau Roads for Boston, by way of Cape of Good Hope,
January on 27. Arrives in Capetown, South Africa, around
the middle of May. Reaches Boston on July 27 (age 44).
1808: Pompeii excavation begins in earnest (age 45).
1809-1816: James Madison elected president of US (age 46 to 53).
1809: Charles Darwin born (age 46).
1810: US pop. reaches 7.2 million (age 47).
1810: Homeopathy founded (age 47).
1811: Amasa's mother Abigail passes away in Duxbury at the age of
68 (age 48).
1812-1814: War of 1812 (age 49 to 51).
1812: Louisiana enters the union - 18th (age 49).
1814: Amasa's father Captain Samuel Delano passes away in Duxbury
at the age of 75 (age 51).
1815: Sumbawa volcano (Indonesia) erupts; 50,000 killed (age 52).
1815: Battle of Waterloo (age 52).
1815: French outlaw slavery in France (age 52).
1816: Photographic Negative introduced (age 53).
1816: Stethoscope introduced (age 53).
1816: Indiana enters the union - 19th (age 53).
1817-1825: Erie canal constructed (age 54 until after death).
1817: Mississippi enters the union - 20th (age 54).
1817: Captain Amasa Delano publishes the nearly 600 page account
of his voyages, "A Narrative of Voyages and Travels in the
Northern and Southern Hemispheres: Comprising Three Voyages
Round the World; Together With a Voyage of Survey and Discovery,
in the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Islands" (age 54).
1817-1824: James Monroe president of US (age 54 until after death).
1818: Illinois enters the union - 21st (age 55).
1818: Savannah 1st steamship to cross the Atlantic (age 55).
1819: Oersted discovers electro-magnetism (age 56).
1819: Alabama enters the union - 22nd (age 56).
1820-1830: Reign of ing George IV (age 57 until after death).
1820: Maine enters the union - 23rd (age 57).
1821: US pop. reaches 9.2 million (age 58).
1821: Missouri enters the union - 24th (age 58).
1821-1829: Greek war of Independence (age 58 until after death).
1823: Captain Amasa Delano passes away at age 60; wife
Hannah passes away the same year.
1856: Herman Melville publishes "the Piazza Tales", including
"Benito Cereno", based on Amasa's encounter with the Tryal:
"...Captain Amasa Delano, of Duxbury, in Massachusetts,
commanding a large sealer and general trader, lay at
anchor, with a valuable cargo, in the harbor of St. Maria --
a small, desert, uninhabited island toward the southern
extremity of the long cost of Chili. There he had touched
for water. On the second day, not long after dawn, while
lying in his berth, his mate came below, informing him that
a strange sail was coming into the bay. Ships were then not
so plenty in those waters as now. He rose, dressed, and
went on deck..."