Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson was born on 13 November 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Stevenson had a weak constitution; his childhood was marked by chronic illness and frequent visits to warmer climes. This limited his access to a formal education and he didn’t learn to read until he was eight, although he had begun dictating stories to his nurse and mother long before. At university, he trained in Engineering and Law but never practiced either. Instead, he spent his life pursuing his passion for writing and travel.

In the later years of his life, Stevenson and his family settled on Samoa. There, he interacted closely with the local people, wrote several works inspired by Polynesian culture and immersed himself in Samoan politics.

On 3 December 1894, after decades of ill health, Stevenson suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died.