Robert Louis Stevenson was born on 13 November 1850 in Edinburgh. A Scottish novelist, poet and essayist, Stevenson wrote some of the best-loved adventure stories in the language. His novels Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde combined gripping plots with psychological depth, and A Child's Garden of Verses became a classic of children's poetry. Plagued by lung disease, he traveled widely in search of a healthier climate, crossing the Atlantic to California and later sailing in the South Pacific. He settled in Samoa, where he was known to the islanders as Tusitala, the teller of tales, and where he is buried.
Before and after
- 6 June 1850Birth of Karl Ferdinand Braun
- 9 July 1850Death of Zachary Taylor
- 5 August 1850Birth of Guy de Maupassant
- 18 August 1850Death of Honoré de Balzac
- 13 November 1850Birth of Robert Louis Stevenson
- 1851Construction of The Crystal Palace
- 1851Fizeau experiment
- from 11 January 1851 to 1 August 1864Taiping Rebellion
- 1 February 1851Death of Mary Shelley
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1830Publication of Book of Mormon
- 1857Rise of Symbolism
- 1890Rise of Art Nouveau
- 28 December 1895The Lumiere brothers hold the first public film screening
- c. 1900sRise of Expressionism
- 1909Rise of Futurism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.