Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore (1856–1928) was an American writer, photographer, geographer, and influential early member of the National Geographic Society. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she began her career as a journalist and became known for vivid travel writing at a time when few American women traveled independently and wrote professionally about the wider world. Scidmore made repeated journeys through Alaska, Japan, China, Java, India, and other parts of Asia and the Pacific. Her books combined firsthand observation, historical background, and descriptions of landscapes, cities, customs, and political conditions. Among her major works were Alaska, Its Southern Coast and the Sitkan Archipelago, Jinrikisha Days in Japan, Java, the Garden of the East, China, the Long-Lived Empire, and Winter India. She was closely associated with the National Geographic Society from its early years, contributing articles and photographs to National Geographic Magazine and serving on the Society’s board of managers. She is generally recognized as the first woman to serve on the board, holding that position for many years. Scidmore is also remembered for helping inspire the planting of Japanese cherry trees in Washington, D.C. After seeing the blossoms in Japan, she advocated for cherry trees to be planted around the capital. Her long campaign helped create the conditions for the celebrated 1912 gift of Japanese cherry trees to the United States. She died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1928.
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