Horatio Nelson Jackson of Burlington on his 1903 cross-country tour.

On Jan. 14, 1955, Horatio Nelson Jackson died in Burlington, the Journal-Opinion reports.

Jackson was a physician, World War I veteran, newspaper owner, and radio station owner amongst other things — like being the ultimate road trip pioneer:

“While enjoying drinks with his wife at the University Club in San Francisco on May 18, 1903, he debated with a group of men about whether early automobiles would be a temporary or lasting mode of transportation,” states the New England Historical Society. “Soon, he consented to a $50 bet that he could drive from San Francisco to New York City in no more than 90 days.”

The trip was a bit harder than it is today. There were no road maps, gas stations, or repair shops. Restaurants and motels were few and far between.

Fifteen miles into the trip, a tire blew out. Nevertheless, Jackson and traveling companion Sewall Crocker arrived in New York City 63 days after leaving San Francisco.

In 2003, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns produced a film “Horatio’s Drive” about the trip.

Jackson’s brother, Hollister, fared less well than his brother in his vehicular travels. As Lt. Governor at the time, he died in the Great Flood of 1927, while trying to drive through the water raging across his front yard.