History Elderhostel was founded in 1975 by friends Marty Knowlton, social activist and self-described hippie, and David Bianco, director of residential life at the University of New Hampshire. Knowlton rejected as ageism the belief that one's mind must fail as one ages. After four years of backpacking through Europe and staying in hostels, Knowlton, then in his 50s, returned to the United States..