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Annie Londonderry
Annielondonderry (cropped).jpg
Annie Londonderry as a young woman
Born
Annie Cohen

1870
Latvia
Died November 11, 1947(1947-11-11) (aged 76–77)
Nationality US
Other names Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, Nelly Bly Jr.
Occupation Businesswoman
Notable work
 Circumnavigated the globe on a bicycle

Annie Cohen Kopchovsky (1870 – 1947), known as Annie Londonderry, was an amazing woman who became the first woman to ride a bicycle all the way around the world! Annie was born in Latvia and later moved to the United States. Her incredible journey happened between 1894 and 1895.

Annie's Early Life

Annie Cohen was born in Latvia in 1870. Her parents were Levi and Beatrice Cohen. She had two older siblings, Sarah and Bennett. When Annie was about five years old, her family moved to the United States in 1875. She became a US citizen as a child.

The family settled in Boston, Massachusetts, living in a busy area. Sadly, both her father and mother passed away when Annie was 17. Her older sister Sarah was already married. This meant Annie and her brother Bennett had to take care of their younger siblings, Jacob and Rosa.

In 1888, Annie married Simon "Max" Kopchovsky. They had three children: Bertha, Libbie, and Simon. While Max was a very religious man, Annie worked selling ads for Boston newspapers.

The Big Bicycle Trip

The Challenge

Annie's amazing bicycle journey around the world might have started with a challenge. Some people said two rich men in Boston made a bet. They supposedly bet $20,000 against $10,000 that no woman could ride a bicycle around the world in 15 months and earn $5,000. It's now believed that Annie probably made up this bet to make her trip more exciting!

Annie's great-grand nephew, Peter Zheutlin, wrote a book about her. He thinks Annie created the story of the bet to get more attention for her journey. If it was a stunt, one company that benefited was the Pope Manufacturing Company. They made Columbia Bicycles. They even gave Annie one of their bikes to start her trip.

At that time, riding bicycles was very popular, especially for women. Bicycles gave women a new way to travel on their own. It also helped change women's fashion, moving from long skirts to more practical bloomers that made it easier to move.

Annie Kopchovsky seemed like an unlikely person for such a big trip. She had never ridden a bicycle until a few days before she started! She was also quite small, about 5 feet 3 inches tall and 100 pounds. Plus, she was a married mother of three young children.

Getting Started and Sponsors

To pay for her trip, Annie needed sponsors. These were companies that would give her money to advertise their products. Her first sponsor was the Londonderry Lithia Spring Water Company. They paid her $100. In return, she put a sign for their company on her bike. She also agreed to use the name "Annie Londonderry" for her whole trip.

On June 27, 1894, Annie Londonderry began her journey. She started from the Massachusetts State House in Boston. She was 24 years old. She wore a long skirt and carried a change of clothes and a small pistol. She followed special cycling maps that showed good roads and places to stop. She rode about eight to ten miles each day.

When she reached Chicago on September 24, she was tired. Winter was coming, and she knew it would be hard to ride over the mountains. Before heading back home, she met with Sterling Cycle Works. This company offered to sponsor her. They gave her a lighter, faster men's bicycle. It was 20 pounds lighter than her old one! She also changed her clothes, switching from a dress to bloomers, and later to a men's riding suit.

Across Europe and Asia

With her new bike and clothes, Annie was ready to finish her world trip. She rode back to New York City. On November 24, 1894, she got on a ship called La Touraine to go to France.

She arrived in Le Havre on December 3. Things were a bit difficult at first. Customs officials took her bike, and the French newspapers wrote mean things about her. But she managed to get her bike back. She then rode from Paris to Marseille. Even with bad weather and an injury to her foot, she made it in two weeks by riding and taking trains.

Annie left Marseille on a steamship called Sydney. She had only eight months left to get back to Chicago. The challenge didn't say she had to ride her bike the whole way. So, she sailed from place to place, doing short bike rides at each stop. She visited many places, including Alexandria, Colombo, Singapore, Saigon, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, and Kobe.

Returning to the United States

On March 9, 1895, Annie sailed from Yokohama, Japan. She reached San Francisco on March 23. She then rode through Los Angeles, Arizona, and New Mexico to El Paso.

She used the Southern Pacific Railway tracks for her journey across the desert. These tracks had service roads that cyclists could use. She claimed she was in an accident and had to go to a hospital. However, she actually gave a lecture the evening after the accident!

From El Paso, she traveled north to Albuquerque and then to Denver. She rode a train for most of Nebraska because the roads were very muddy. Near Gladbrook, Iowa, she broke her wrist when she crashed into some pigs! She had to wear a cast for the rest of her trip.

On September 12, 1895, Annie Londonderry arrived back in Chicago. She was joined by two other cyclists she had met. She had completed her trip around the world fourteen days earlier than the allowed time! She collected her $10,000 prize. She arrived back home in Boston on September 24, exactly fifteen months after she had left.

A newspaper called New York World wrote about her journey. The headline called it "the Most Extraordinary Journey Ever Undertaken by a Woman." Even though some people said she traveled more "with" a bicycle than on one, she showed she was a strong cyclist in races she joined along the way.

Annie's Business Skills

Annie Londonderry was very good at selling things and telling stories. These skills helped her get money and attention for her trip. Her main way of earning money was by selling advertising space. She put ribbons and signs for different products on her bike and even on herself!

During her travels, she gave talks about her adventures. She often made her stories more exciting than they really were. For example, in France, she said she was a rich orphan, a student at Harvard University, and the niece of a U.S. senator. In the United States, she told tales about hunting tigers in India and being in a Japanese prison. She also gave cycling shows and sold photos of herself, pins, and autographs.

After her trip, she moved her family to New York City. She became a journalist and wrote about her adventures as a "New Woman." She famously wrote, "I am a journalist and a 'new woman,' if that term means that I believe I can do anything that any man can do."

Annie's Legacy

Annie Londonderry passed away in 1947. For a long time, her story was not widely known.

  • In 2007, her great-nephew, Peter Zheutlin, wrote a book about her called Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride.
  • In 2011, Evalyn Parry created a performance piece called SPIN. It included a song about Annie Londonderry.
  • In 2013, a documentary film about her, The New Woman - Annie "Londonderry" Kopchovsky, won an award.
  • In 2019, The New York Times featured her in their "Overlooked" series, bringing her story to new readers.

Timeline of the Trip

Here is a timeline of Annie's amazing journey:

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Annie Londonderry para niños

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