Thomas Stevens

Born in Berkhamsted, England, in 1854, Thomas Stevens later moved to the United States and became one of the great travel adventurers of the 19th century. In 1884 he set out from San Francisco on a high-wheeled bicycle and completed a transcontinental ride across the United States before continuing overseas, a journey that made him famous as the first person generally recognized for traveling around the world by bicycle.

Stevens wrote about his experiences in Around the World on a Bicycle, bringing readers stories of rough roads, long distances, and encounters across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His writing helped turn bicycle travel into a subject of public fascination and gave many readers their first lively glimpse of places they would never see themselves.

His life reached beyond cycling alone. He also traveled in Africa, investigated reports about Indian ascetics, and later worked as manager of London’s Garrick Theatre. He died in London in 1935, remembered as a restless traveler whose adventures joined endurance, curiosity, and a gift for narrative.