1850-1894

Robert Louis Stevenson, creator of the famous Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was born at number 8 Howard Place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Although for much of his life, Stevenson was governed by the delicate heath he suffered from childhood, he became one of the world’s best-known writers.

As a child, Stevenson was often bedridden with illness, and his mother and nanny spent much of this time reading him stories. Young Louis began writing his own stories when he was just six years old!

Stevenson’s father, a civil engineer, took his son on tours of places that would later figure largely in his work. While his father inspected lighthouses, Louis was introduced to the rough coastline and eerie islands of Scotland. Stevenson once described his childhood interest in literature and writing: "All through my boyhood and youth, I was known and pointed out for the pattern of an idler; and yet I was always busy on my own private end, which was to learn to write. I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.”

A student at Edinburgh University, Stevenson studied engineering and law, eventually becoming a lawyer. These fields did not interest him as much as writing, however, and when he began submitting essays to magazines, his style captured readers and critics alike.

Stevenson trekked through France, Germany and Scotland, and wrote several works of travel literature.

In 1883, Stevenson’s third book, Treasure Island made him famous. It was followed three years later by Kidnapped. The pirate adventures and treasure hunts in Stevenson’s fictional world inspired the imaginations of young and old readers.

At the age of 24, Stevenson met and fell in love with the American Fanny Osborne, whom he married four years later. They returned to Scotland after some time abroad, but the climate was not good for the author’s health, and so they traveled to America and then to the South Pacific. They settled in Upolu, a Samoan Island, where the people welcomed Stevenson and named him Tusitala, “teller of tales.” Stevenson had a stroke in December of 1894, and died shortly afterward. He is buried on the summit of Mount Vaea.