Eva Dickson
Eva Dickson, born Eva Lindström (Steninge Slott, Sigtuna 1905 – Calcutta, India, 22 April 1938), was a Swedish explorer, rally driver and writer. She was the first woman to have crossed the Sahara desert by car. She was perhaps the first female rally driver in Sweden (1925), and the third female aviator in Sweden (1923).
Biography
Eva Dickson was the daughter of the wealthy Albert Lindström, who managed stud farms for Horse breeding, and Maria Lindström. She married the rally driver Olof Dickson in 1925, followed by the former spouse of Karen Blixen, Baron Bror von Blixen-Finecke, in 1936.
Eva Dickson travelled by car from Nairobi to Stockholm in 1932 and from Belgium to Calcutta in 1937. Her travels attracted great attention, and she published several travel guides and descriptions of her experiences. She made her travels by making bets with various wealthy society people.
In 1937, she planned to travel from China to Sweden by the Silk Road. After having reached Calcutta, however, she learned of the news of the Second Sino-Japanese war and was therefore forced to change her plans. Shortly after, she was taken ill and treated with a cure of arsenic in a hospital in Calcutta, which worsened her condition. She left the hospital and died in a car accident while driving shortly thereafter.
References
- Lena Wisaeus & Ann Bjerke: Eva Dickson – ett bedårande barn av sin tid (Eva Dickson - a delightful child of her time) (2000)
- http://www.nordicacademicpress.com/o.o.i.s?id=43&vid=1614
- Lindorm, Erik: Gustaf V och hans tid. 1928-1938 (The epoch of Gustav V 1928-1938) (1979)
- This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Swedish Wikipedia.