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 TODAY IN LITERARY HISTORY: November 13
Remembering Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 – 1894)

Scottish novelist, essayist, and poet Robert Louis Stevenson gave readers some of the most enduring adventure and horror tales ever written—from Treasure Island to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

But here’s a birthday story unlike any other. While living in Samoa, Stevenson learned that the 12-year-old daughter of Henry Clay Ide, the U.S. Commissioner to Samoa, had been born on Christmas Day and disliked sharing her birthday with the holiday. In an act of generosity perfectly in character, Stevenson legally transferred his own birthday, November 13, to her.

His letter of 1891 reads in part:
“I… Have transferred, and do hereby transfer to the said A. H. Ide, all and whole of my rights and privileges in the 13th day of November, formerly my birthday, now, hereby, and henceforth, the birthday of the said A. H. Ide…”

What a remarkable gift—from a man who gave the world so many others.
Stevenson’s writing spanned children’s verse (A Child’s Garden of Verses), gothic tales, travelogues, and essays. A literary celebrity in his day, he remains among the 30 most-translated authors in the world.

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