Ida Laura Pfeiffer (October 14, 1797 in Vienna - October 27, 1858 Vienna), was an Austrian traveler and travel book author. She was one of the first female explorers, whose popular books were translated into seven languages. She was a member of geographical societies of both Berlin and Paris, but not of Royal Geographical Society in London due to her sex. The daughter of a wealthy merchant named Reyer, she was born at Vienna. As a child, she preferred boys' clothing and liked sports and exercise, which was encouraged by her father. Following his death when she was nine, her mother - disapproving this unconventional upbringing - persuaded Ida to wear girls' clothing and to take up piano lessons. After Napoleon I, emperor of the French, conquered Vienna in 1809, some of the French troops were quartered in Reyers' home to Ida's dislike. During the grand review held in Schönbrunn Palace, she protested against foreign occupation by turning her back as Napoleon rode past. In May 1, 1820 she married Dr. Pfeiffer, a lawyer in Lemberg, who was 24 years older than she and a widower with a grown-up son. Dr. Pfeiffer made enemies by exposing corrupted Austrian officials in Galicia and was forced to resign. Subsequently, he found it difficult to find a job and in order to support her family, and due to their poverty Ida gave drawing and music lessons. The financial situation of the family improved only after the death of Mme Reyes in 1831, and with this small inheritance Ida Pfeiffer was able to hire better teachers for her two sons. Dr. Pfeiffer died in 1838. After her sons had homes of their own, Ida Pfeiffer was finally able to fulfill her childhood dream of traveling to foreign places. She later wrote in Visit to Iceland: When I was but a little child, I had already a strong desire to see the world. Whenever I met a travelling-carriage, I would stop involuntarily, and gaze after it until it had disappeared; I used even to envy the postilion, for I thought he also must have accomplished the whole long journey. In 1842 she traveled along the Danube river to the Black Sea and Istanbul. From there she continued to Palestine and Egypt before returning home via Italy. She published an account of her journey in Reise einer Wienerin in das Heilige Land (Vienna, 1843); money earned from this publication allowed her to pursue more extended explorations in the future. In 1845 she set out to Scandinavia and Iceland, describing her tour in two volumes, Reise nach dem skandinavischen Norden und der Insel Island (Pest, 1846). In 1846 she started on a journey round the world, visiting Brazil, Chile and other countries of South America, Tahiti, China, India, Persia, Asia Minor and Greece, and reaching home in 1848. The results were published in Eine Frau fährt um die Welt ("A Woman's First Journey Around the World", Vienna, 1850). In 1851 she went to England and thence to South Africa, intending to penetrate into the interior; this proved impracticable, but she proceeded to the Malay archipelago, spending eighteen months in the Sunda Islands and the Malukus She also visited the Dyaks. Afterward, she went to look on the Batak and was the first person to report on their behavior. After a visit to Australia, Madame Pfeiffer proceeded to California, Oregon, Peru, Ecuador, New Granada, and north again to the Great Lakes, reaching home in 1854. Her narrative, Meine zweite Weltreise, was published at Vienna in 1856. In May 1857 she set out to explore Madagascar, where at first she was cordially received by the queen Ranavalona I. However, she unwittingly allowed herself to be involved in a plot to overthrow the government together with few other Europeans (e.g. Jean Laborde) and the crown prince Rakoto (the future king Radama II). After the queen learned about the coup attempt, the Europeans were saved from execution by the intervention of the crown prince, whose involvement in the plot was not known by the queen. Instead, Ida Pfeiffer and other Europeans were expelled from the country in July 1857. Suffering from disease she contracted in Madagascar, she never fully recovered and died 1858 in Vienna probably due to cancer, or malaria. The Reise nach Madagascar was issued in 1861 (Vienna), with a biography by her son. This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Leidler, Keith (2005). Female Caligula: Ranavalona, the Mad Queen of Madagascar. Wiley. ISBN 0-470-02223-X.