Timeline

There is no doubt that in his 22 years, Dan Eldon lived one wild life. He traveled, he learned, and he loved. Let this timeline take you back to the first day of Dan’s life and lead you through each of his adventures and milestones. Trust me, it’s a rabbit hole worth going down…

Birth

Daniel Robert Eldon is born in Hampstead, England to Michael and Kathy Eldon.

Amy

Dan gets a sister: Amy Louise Eldon is born.

Suburbia

The Eldons leave London for a distant suburb.

First Camera

Dan receives his first camera for Christmas.

Arrival

Mike Eldon gets a two-year appointment to manage the Nairobi, Kenya office of a computer company.

A New Friend

Dan makes a friend at his new school, Lengai Croze.

Kenya

Dan writes to his friends in England describing a safari. When he wasn't looking, a baboon stole his chocolate mousse, he writes.

House Guests

With their belongings packed, their house rented, and their dogs adopted to other families, the Eldons are reluctantly ready to return to London.

International School of Kenya (ISK)

Dan transfers from Hillcrest to the International School of Kenya (ISK).

First Photos

Dan has his first photograph printed in The Nation.

A Film

The film Out of Africa, starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford is filmed in Kenya.

With the Masai

Dan meets Kipenget, a Masai woman who lives in the Ngong Hills outside of Nairobi.

The Journals Begin

For his Anthropology class, Dan and his classmates visit a Maasai village in the Loita Hills.

Up Country

Dan begins traveling "up country" more often, taking buses to sleepy, backwater towns.

Mkebe Parties

When a classmate at ISK becomes ill with a heart condition, Dan organizes a series of dances in his backyard.

The Graduate

Dan graduates from International School of Kenya.

The Year On

After graduation, Dan decided to take a "year on."

Deziree

Dan moves home and purchases his beloved Land Rover, Deziree.

The First Safari

Dan convinces Lengai and another friend to accompany him on a safari from Kenya to southern Africa.

America

After buying an old Buick in Iowa, Dan drives to California and enrolls at Pasadena City College.

Student Transport Aid

After raising $17,000, the Student Transport Aid traveled from the Eldon home in Kenya to a refugee camp in Malawi.

Autumn

Dan continues traveling around the world, eventually ending up back in Los Angeles taking classes at UCLA.

Christmas

Dan goes home to Nairobi for the Christmas holiday.

Famine

After learning about a famine in Somalia, Dan decides to hop a flight with an aid group and visit a refugee camp.

Darkness

By October, Dan has been in Somalia steadily.

A Break

Dan covers the arrival of the American military in Mogadishu.

Holiday

Dan goes home to Nairobi and awaits Amy’s visit.

Entrepreneur

Dan begins a postcard and T-shirt business in Somalia.

Cover Boy

Dan's photographs appear in Time and Newsweek.

June 24 - July 1

Dan makes what will be his final visit to Nairobi.

July 12, 1993

Dan was killed by a Somali mob the day he was planning to leave Mogadishu.

Celebration of Life

The following week, friends and family celebrated Dan's life.

About
- Introduction
- Artist
- Activist
- Adventurer
- Photojournalism
- Journals
- Timeline
- Writing
- Family

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Books about Dan Eldon

Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life [book]
December 21, 2011
Dan Eldon: The Journey Is the Destination [book]
January 10, 2011
Dan Eldon: The Art of Life [book]
August 10, 2001

Dan’s Mission Statement

Safari as a Way of Life
"To explore the unknown and the familiar, distant and near and to record in detail with the eyes of a child, any beauty, (of the flesh or otherwise) horror, irony, traces of utopia or Hell. Select your team with care, but when in doubt, take on some new crew and give them a chance. But avoid at all costs fluctuations of sincerity with your best people."

- Dan Eldon