Elizabeth Bisland 1861 - 1929

Elizabeth Bisland was an American journalist and author. Initially writing poetry under the pseudonym B.L.R. Dane, once her identity was discovered she moved to New Orleans and began writing for the New Orleans Times-Democrat newspaper. She later moved to New York City and eventually became the books editor at The Cosmopolitan (later known as Cosmopolitan and Cosmo), mostly writing for the 'In The Library' section. On 14th November 1889, The Cosmopolitan's owner John Brisben Walker summoned Bisland to a meeting and requested that she leave the same day on a trip to circumnavigate the globe, racing against Phileas Fogg's fictional record of Around the World in 80 Days and the New York World's journalist Nellie Bly who had departed the previous day. Despite her objections, Bisland set off westward - Bly having travelled eastward - and completed her journey using only scheduled transport on 30th January 1890. It had taken 76.5 days, which was faster than Fogg's record but slower than Bly's achievement of 72 days.

Bisland returned to writing and editing, including producing an account of her journey which was serialised in The Cosmopolitan and published in 1891 as a book 'In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around the World'. She married lawyer Charles W Wetmore on 6th October 1891 and changed her name to Elizabeth Bisland Wetmore, although she continued to publish as Elizabeth Bisland. She died of pneumonia on 6th January 1929 in Charlottesville, Virginia.