Jacques Arago

Jacques Étienne Victor Arago (6 March 1790 – 27 November 1855) was a French writer, artist and explorer, author of a Voyage Round the World.

Jacques was born in Estagel, Pyrénées-Orientales. He was the brother of François Arago (1786–1853), a scientist and politician, the most famous of the six Arago brothers. His four other brothers were Jean Arago (1788–1836), a general in the Mexican army; Victor Arago (1792-1867), a military in France; Joseph Arago (1796-1860), also a military in France and Mexico, Étienne Arago (1802–1892), a writer and politician.

Jacques Arago joined Louis de Freycinet as a drawer on his 1817 voyage around the world aboard the ship Uranie, which inspired his witty Voyage autour du monde. This book had much success and was re-published through several decades with various titles. Having been given a challenge many years later by a lady at a social dinner, he then published Voyage autour du monde, sans la lettre A (Voyage around the world, without the later A), later known as Curieux voyage autour du monde, in 1853, where he tells of his round trip lipogrammatically, that is, without once using the letter "A". The lady replied with a letter without the letter C.

On the Freycinet expedition to Hawaii in 1819, Arago "showed Riouriou a Camera obscura," the first such ever seen in the Hawaiian islands.

Although Arago lost his sight in 1837, he went on traveling and writing for the theater.

He died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Over forty of his drawings were donated to the Honolulu Museum of Art by Frances Damon Holt.

Ooro, One of the Principal Officers of Kamehameha II, pen and ink wash over graphite, 1819, Honolulu Museum of Art

Tattooing, Sandwich Islands, Honolulu Museum of Art

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