Harold Augustin Calahan

Harold Augustin Calahan (November 7, 1889 – November 25, 1965) or H. A. Calahan was a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy and an author on sailing.^[1][2]

He was born in Brooklyn and attended Columbia University for his B.S., M.S. and his law degree. In 1917 he was working at an advertising agency, and he later married Gladys Britton.^[3] He died of a heart attack in 1965 in Port Chester, New York and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on November 30, 1965.^[1]

He is known for writing the novel Back to Treasure Island (1935), a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. 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)^[4]

References

1. "Harold Augustin Calahan, 76, Yachtsman and Author, Dead", New York Times, November 27, 1965.
2. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 50 (New York: James T. White & Co., 1968).
3. Calahan's World War I draft registration card
4. 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."