Robert Louis Stevenson

Born on November 13, 1850, in Scotland, Robert Louis Stevenson was a writer known by his most famous titles Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

When Robert was young, he had a disease that attacked his bones and his lungs, making him thin and weak for most of his life. After becoming sixteen, he attended collage, planning to become an engineer. While at collage, he found out that he liked writing, so he started writing small novels about his adventures while kayaking on Belgium and France's canals.

The book, Treasure Island, was written originally for a magazine in 1881 and was first published in book form during the year 1883 by Cassell and Company. The story was inspired by his father's seafaring experiences.

While Robert was in France, he met an American woman named Fanny Osbourne. They got married in 1876 and stayed in America for some time. While there, he stayed at an abandoned gold mine to find inspiration for his book titled The Silverado Squatters.

A year after going to America, Robert decided to go back to his home country for a period of time. After staying in Scotland for some time, he moved to Switzerland because of health problems in Scotland. While in his new home, he endeavored to write stories based on his experiences in Switzerland and stories based on folk tales from France, Scotland, and his new home. While in Switzerland, he wrote the books The New Arabian Nights and The Merry Men.

After the death of his father, Robert moved back to America. He was living in New York, and in 1889 set out on a cruise ship tour of the southern islands.  He then bought a plantation on Upolu in Samoa (one of the islands). While on the island, he wrote the books In the South Seas, A Footnote to History, and Island Nights' Entertainments. He died on December 3, 1894, in his island home on Upolu.