Treasure Island

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the only child of a family of lighthouse designers. Young Robert began writing as a child and became a published author for the first time at the age of sixteen. In 1867, he attended the University of Edinburgh to study engineering, but often failed to attend classes. In 1871, he announced to his father, his desire to become a writer. His father was supportive of his decision, even paying some of his publication costs. Stevenson qualified for the Scottish bar in 1875, although he never actually practiced law. In 1876, he met Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, a divorcee with three children. They married in 1880. At this point, his health was poor, almost to the verge of death, and Fanny nursed him back to health. Spending the next seven years, searching for a place to live that would suit his illness, he began writing the bulk of his work; classics such as "Treasure Island," "Kidnapped" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." In 1890, he purchased 400 acres in Samoa. On December 3, 1894, Robert was struggling to open a bottle of wine with Fanny, when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died at the age of forty-four. He is buried in Samoa.