author
Ezra Green
1746–1847
A Revolutionary War naval surgeon and diarist, he left behind one of the vivid firsthand accounts of service aboard John Paul Jones’s Ranger. He also lived to the remarkable age of 101, linking the early republic to a much later America.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1746, Ezra Green studied at Harvard and trained in medicine before serving during the American Revolution. He is best remembered as surgeon aboard the Continental ship-of-war Ranger under John Paul Jones, where he kept a diary that offers a direct, human view of naval life in wartime.
That diary later became the basis for Diary of Ezra Green, M.D., which helped preserve his place in Revolutionary history. Green lived an unusually long life, dying in 1847 at the age of 101, and his long lifespan made him a striking living connection to the nation’s founding era.
For listeners interested in eyewitness history, Green stands out not as a polished literary stylist but as a practical observer who recorded what he saw. His writing is valuable because it brings everyday experience, danger, and duty into focus through the eyes of someone who was there.