October 22nd, 1882
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
The day of birth of Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges, one
of the most extraordinary and unconventional figures ever
generated by the United Kingdom.
An explorer of rare sensitivity, searching for connections between
Mayas and Altantis.
Firmly convinced that “life without adventure is a state of
being half dead”, F.A Mitchell-Hedges is a versatile
character, whose interests encompass literature and big game
fishing, but whose pulse quickens for archaeology and
exploration.
February 1900
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
After leaving his father’s home, he emigrates to Canada, and then works as a stockbroker in New York.
1906
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
He marries Lillian Agnes Clarke.
January 1st, 1907
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
Anna Mitchell-Hedges was born Anne Marie Le Guillon, in Port Colborne, Canada.
1913
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
Having worked as a herdsman in Texas, and as a waiter in New Orleans, he moves to Mexico. Here, he is captured by the bandits of Pancho Villa.
1914
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
During the First World War, after returning home to fight for England, he is declared unfit for service because of the gunshot wounds suffered during his period with the bandits.
1917
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
After the death of his friend Madame Le Guillon, who had been widowed a few months earlier, he adopts their 10 year old daughter, Anne Marie.
1917
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
After a childhood that was, to say the least, adventurous, and the death of her two younger brothers, she loses her parents and is adopted by a friend of the family, Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges.
1919
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
An intense childhood.
During the next two years, the girl accompanies her adoptive
father on his expeditions. Anna is with him during
his Central American expedition.
In 1919, her father decides to entrust the child’s education
to traditional schooling.
1923-1929
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
Publication of three books: “Battles with Giant Fish”, “Land of Wonder and Fear” and “Battles with Sea Monsters”.
January 1st, 1924
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
He supervises the Maya excavation site at Lubantuun, in
Belize, where his daughter Anna, on her seventeenth birthday, finds
the “Crystal Skull” among the ruins of the
archaeological site.
January 1st, 1924
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
The Lubaantun excavation.
A birthday to be remembered. During the journey
with her father in Belize, while at the Maya archaeological site in
Lubaantun, the discovery that is to change
Anna’s life takes place.
On her seventeenth birthday, Anna discovers a wonderful artifact.
The “Crystal Skull” sees the light
once more.
1924-1930
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
An adventurous spirit.
Anna shares her adoptive father’s passion for
adventure. We watch her engage in deep-sea
fishing expeditions, or fight for her
life in duels with firearms. Anna usually travels
with a whip and a gun, ever ready
to defend herself when the need arises.
1931
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
Publication of the novel “The White Tiger”.
1932
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
A short respite
After years of travels and adventures of all sorts (setting
shark fishing records and discovering
treasures), F.A. Mitchell Hedges returns to New York, and
then on to Hollywood, where he finds a villa in Beverly
Hills; here he starts working on a film script, which
remains unfinished due to the death of the protagonist,
Jean Harlow.
1934
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
His father, John Hedges, dies.
1934
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
Anna is in Paris, attending a course as a beautician with “Antoine”, the most famous hairdresser of the times.
1934-1938
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
Having completed the course, she manages a beauty parlor on an ocean liner, the Normandie. To Anna's embarassement she received a wester union message on the Normandie, "come home, you dirty little boy", from her father, who wanted her to go to an expedition. Everyone on the Normandie knew about it before her.
1943
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
He buys back his Crystal Skull from the London auction house Sotheby’s. This is an expensive mishap. The skull had been thoughtlessly sold by the son of a friend, to whom F.A. Mitchell-Hedges had entrusted it before a long journey. The Crystal Skull returns into his possession at a considerable price.
1948
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
From the end of the war for one year, Anna manages a hotel in South Africa: an establishment that her father had purchased for her.
1950
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
Together with her father, she purchases the Virgin of Kazan, a precious antique Russian icon which had gone missing after the revolution of ’17. Her father wanted to go back to Russia after the fall of communism, and with Anna's help it did.
1953
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
He purchases Farley Castle in Berkshire, the ideal place to accommodate all the treasures collected during his adventurous life.
1954
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
Publication of his sixth and last book, the autobiography “Danger My Ally”.
1959
Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges
He dies in his Sheldon home. To the very end he
dedicates himself to fishing, from his window, at
high tide.
1959
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
In the last nine months she lovingly looks after her father, staying by his side to the end.
1967
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
An adventurer’s stage exit.
She returns to Canada and organizes tours and seminars on
the life of her father, exhibiting the fabulous Crystal
Skull.
The last wish of her adoptive father was for the two Americans who,
in years gone by, had convinced him to adopt Anna.
Anna returns to the Caribbean to retrieve one of the trunks
belonging to the booty discovered with her father during an
exploration mission.
She decides to donate the valuable treasure to those people who had
had such an influence on her life and on her father’s.
April 2007
Anna Mitchell-Hedges
Anna spends her last years peacefully, shuttling between the
hotel she manages in Canada and her
home in England. She receives a great number of
visitors, drawn by her adventurous life and by her precious Crystal
Skull.
She spends the last seven years of her life in Chesterton, Indiana,
in the home of her friend Bill Homann. She dies at
the age of a hundred.