Where in the World is Harry Bensley?

Lately, I've been doing some background research on Jules Verne. When I was a kid, I thought Verne's books were wonderful. I started reading them when I was pretty young, and I always felt like finishing a good Verne book really said something about me. I remember the books being quite difficult, but mesmerising.

Today when I was looking at some information on Verne's book, Around the World in 80 Days, I learned that since the book was published, numerous publicity-seeking individuals have attempted to circumnavigate the globe in a variety of ways as a sort of homage to Verne's story. Some of these journeys were just plain absurd.

Take, for example, Harry Bensley. While much of the truth of Bensley's story is questionable, it is awesome nonetheless. In one story, Bensley overheard John Pierpont Morgan and Hugh Cecil Lowther arguing over if it was possible for a man to walk around the world without being identified. In this version of the story, Bensley overheard and offered to attempt the feat, for a fee of $100,000. In another story, Bensley had lost his entire fortune gambling to the men, and in an attempt to win his money back, offered to attempt the journey. It is unclear which story is true.

What is generally agreed upon is that through some set of events, Bensley, a well-known rake and adventurer, volunteered to attempt a trip around the world, on foot, without being recognized.

Here is a list of the requirements that Bensley had to meet in order to win the wager:

1. Bensley was never to be identified;
2. He was to walk around the world but first through specific 169 British cities and towns in a specific order; to prove his visit he would have to collect a signature from a local prominent resident. After that he would begin a tour of 18 countries and would have to visit them, also in pre-specified order.
3. Bensley was to finance himself, starting off with just GBP 1 and selling picture cards about himself;
4. Only a change of underclothes was allowed as baggage;
5. He was to complete the journey wearing an iron mask weighing 2 kg (4.5 lb) from a suit of armour;
6. He was to push a baby carriage the entire journey;
7. Another man was to accompany him to see that he fulfilled the conditions in all times, and
8. On the journey he was to find a wife without her seeing his face (note that he was possibly married already).

Did he actually complete the journey? Well, no. He traveled for six and half years before calling it quits. When World War I broke out, Bensley returned to England to fight. At the point he stopped his journey, he was in Genoa, Italy, and claimed to have journeyed over 30,000 miles on foot. During his journey he claimed to have received over 200 offers of marriage, but he turned them all down. He also claimed to have met and sold a postcard to King Edward VII. The king asked for Bensley's autograph, but he did not comply as this would have revealed his identity. Upon returning to England, Bensley received 4,000 English pounds as compensation for his time.

-much of this information is from Wikipedia and source sites like this one