Mutineer. A Midshipman on the HMS Bounty, he was the only officer to join in the mutiny on April 28, 1789. He later settled on Pitcairn Island. Historians have painted Young as a devious, Machievellian figure, some claiming he was the real "brains" behind the mutiny. It's been alleged that on the night of April 27, an unhappy Fletcher Christian confided to Young his plan to desert the Bounty on a raft and head back for Tahiti; Young persuaded him to take the ship instead. There's little evidence to support this story, but it does appear that on Pitcairn, Young had prior knowledge of---and may even have masterminded---the events of "Massacre Day" (September 20, 1793), in which Christian and four other mutineers were killed by Tahitian natives. Young was certainly skilled at self-preservation, surviving ten years of bloody in-fighting in the South Seas. His last brutal deed was the 1799 "execution" of mutineer Matthew Quintal. Young's one true friend was mutineer John Adams; he taught Adams to read and write, laying the foundations for literacy and religious practice on Pitcairn. On Christmas Day, 1800, Young succumbed to asthma at the age of 34. He and Adams (and possibly William Muspratt, whose exact fate is unknown) were the only Bounty mutineers to die of natural causes.
Mutineer. A Midshipman on the HMS Bounty, he was the only officer to join in the mutiny on April 28, 1789. He later settled on Pitcairn Island. Historians have painted Young as a devious, Machievellian figure, some claiming he was the real "brains" behind the mutiny. It's been alleged that on the night of April 27, an unhappy Fletcher Christian confided to Young his plan to desert the Bounty on a raft and head back for Tahiti; Young persuaded him to take the ship instead. There's little evidence to support this story, but it does appear that on Pitcairn, Young had prior knowledge of---and may even have masterminded---the events of "Massacre Day" (September 20, 1793), in which Christian and four other mutineers were killed by Tahitian natives. Young was certainly skilled at self-preservation, surviving ten years of bloody in-fighting in the South Seas. His last brutal deed was the 1799 "execution" of mutineer Matthew Quintal. Young's one true friend was mutineer John Adams; he taught Adams to read and write, laying the foundations for literacy and religious practice on Pitcairn. On Christmas Day, 1800, Young succumbed to asthma at the age of 34. He and Adams (and possibly William Muspratt, whose exact fate is unknown) were the only Bounty mutineers to die of natural causes.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Gravesite Details
Probably buried near where he lives as happened to John Adams; however gravesite has been lost
Family Members
Spouses
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