author
Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore
1856–1928
A bold travel writer and photographer, she explored Alaska and Asia at a time when few women traveled so widely on their own. Her work also helped shape National Geographic and inspired Washington, D.C.'s famous cherry trees.
3 Audiobooks
Java : The garden of the East
by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore
Jinrikisha days in Japan
by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore
Alaska, Its Southern Coast and the Sitkan Archipelago
by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore
About the author
Born in 1856, Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore was an American journalist, travel writer, and photographer whose books and articles introduced readers to places including Alaska, Japan, Java, China, and India. She built a career out of curiosity and movement, turning long journeys into vivid writing for a broad audience.
Scidmore became the first woman to serve on the board of the National Geographic Society, and she was one of the magazine's early female writers and photographers. Her reporting and images helped bring distant landscapes and cultures to readers at a time when travel writing could still feel like discovery.
She is also remembered for championing the planting of Japanese cherry trees in Washington, D.C., an idea she promoted for years before it was finally realized in 1912. She died in Geneva in 1928, leaving behind a legacy of adventurous writing, photography, and public influence.