Elizabeth Bisland

Born in Louisiana in 1861, she grew up in the aftermath of the Civil War and later moved into literary and magazine work in New York. She became an editor and writer for Cosmopolitan, building a reputation for polished essays, criticism, and travel writing.

Her most famous adventure came in 1889–1890, when she was sent westward on a trip around the globe in an informal newspaper race against Nellie Bly, who traveled east. Although Bly arrived first, the journey made Bisland internationally known, and she later wrote about it in A Flying Trip Around the World.

She continued to write books and essays after the race and is remembered as a journalist whose career joined literary culture with bold reporting. Her life story stands out not only for the famous world tour, but also for the way she carved out a serious writing career in American magazines at the end of the nineteenth century.