Richard Henry Dana, Jr.

Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815–1882) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of an eminent colonial family. He gained renown as the author of the American classic Two Years Before the Mast, a memoir of his time spent at sea as a merchant seaman. As a lawyer, he specialized in maritime law, defending many common seamen in court and writing The Seaman's Friend, a standard reference on the legal rights and responsibilities of sailors. He is also the author of To Cuba and Back, Journal of a Voyage Round the World, and Twenty-Four Years After.