Patrick O'Brian was born on December 12, 1914 in Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire, England as Richard Patrick Russ. He was a writer, known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Van der Valk (1972) and Close Up (1998). He was married to Frieda Mary Wicksteed Tolstoy-Miroslavska and Sarah Russ. He died on January 2, 2000 in Dublin, Ireland.