David greenstone biography

Livingstone returned to Africa as head of the "Zambezi Expedition," which was a British government-funded project to examine the natural resources of southeastern Africa. The Zambezi River turned out to be completely unnavigable past the Cabora Basa Rapids, a series of cataracts and rapids that Livingstone had failed to explore on his earlier travels.

The expedition lasted from March until the middle of Livingstone was an inexperienced leader and had trouble managing a large-scale project. At Sesheke, Livingstone first observed the great Zambezi River and began the hazardous hike northward. From the beginning, this journey was riven with difficulties. For the first time, Livingstone contracted malaria as did most of his companions.

Livingstone's wife, Mary, died on April 29, , of dysentery , but Livingstone continued to explore, eventually returning home in after the government ordered the recall of the expedition.

David greenstone biography

The Zambezi Expedition was cast as a failure in many newspapers of the time, and Livingstone experienced great difficulty in raising funds to further explore Africa. Nevertheless, the scientists appointed to work under Livingstone, John Kirk, Charles Meller, and Richard Thornton, did contribute large collections of botanical, ecological, geological, and ethnographic material to scientific institutions in the United Kingdom.

Livingstone maintained exceptional popularity with the Royal Geographical Society and the British public. While in England, he gave speeches about the need to take action against the slave trade. His publication, a book called Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambezi and Its Tributaries , brought private support to explore the watersheds divides between river drainage basins of central Africa.

In March , Livingstone returned to Africa, this time to Zanzibar now part of Tanzania , where he set out to seek the source of the Nile River. The map of Africa was slowly being charted. The source of the Nile seemed so close and even though Livingstone often thought he was on the verge of success, he continued to be puzzled for seven years.

In , Livingstone found the Lualaba River, which feeds into the Congo River , and mistakenly thought this river was the "real" Nile. In Zanzibar, Livingstone saw Arab slave traders massacre between to Africans. Devastated, he returned to Ujiji. Livingstone completely lost contact with the outside world for six years. Only one of his 44 dispatches made it to Zanzibar.

Henry Morton Stanley , funded by the New York Herald newspaper in , led an expedition of nearly 2, men to find Livingstone. They started the search into the interior from the eastern shore of Africa on March 21, He finally reached Quelimane on the east coast on May 20, For the first time Africa had been crossed from coast to coast. He waited 6 months for a ship which returned him to England.

Livingstone was now a famous man. In the Royal Geographical Society had awarded him the Gold Medal; now at a special meeting they made him a fellow of the society. The London Missionary Society honored him; he was received by Queen Victoria; and the universities of Glasgow and Oxford conferred upon him honorary doctorates. In November his first book, the tremendously successful Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa , was published.

Livingstone caught the imagination not only of England but the world. He opened the eyes of the world to the tremendous potentialities of Africa for human development, trade, and Christian missions; he also disclosed the horrors of the East African slave trade. With mutual regrets he severed his ties with the London Missionary Society, but the British government agreed to support an expedition to explore the Zambezi River led by Livingstone, who was made a British consul for the purpose.

He sailed for Africa in March The Zambezi expedition met with many difficulties. It was marred by friction among the Europeans, mainly caused by Livingstone's brother Charles. The steam launch Ma Robert proved unsuitable, and the Kebrabasa Rapids killed the dream of Zambezi as an inland waterway. The explorers learned of the existence of two lakes to the north, and on a second journey they discovered Lake Chilwa on April 16, On a third journey up the Shire they left the boat, walked 3 weeks overland, and discovered Lake Nyasa on Sept.

A new steamer, the Pioneer, arrived in , by which they explored the Ruvuma River in an effort to bypass the Portuguese. Later they managed to get the Pioneer to Lake Nyasa , which they explored but did not circumnavigate. In January a third boat, the Lady Nyassa, arrived together with Mrs. Livingstone, giving him fresh hope. But Mary Livingstone died from fever at the end of April.

The Lady Nyassa never reached the lake, and finally the British government recalled the expedition. In July Livingstone reached England. In Livingstone published his second successful book, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries, and the Royal Geographical Society equipped him for another expedition to explore the watersheds of Africa.

He reached Zanzibar in January and began exploring the territory near Lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika. On Nov. On July 18, , he found Lake Bangweulu. In March he reached Ujiji only to discover that there was no mail and that his supplies had been stolen. He was sick, depressed, and exhausted, but in September he set out again, witnessing at Nyangwe the horrors of the Arab slave trade.

He returned to Ujiji in October Stanley found Livingstone at Ujiji and stayed 4 months. Unable to persuade Livingstone to return to England, Stanley reequipped him and departed from him near Tabora on March 14, In August, Livingstone was on his way again. Near Bangweulu he got bogged down in swamps but finally reached Chitambo's village.

On May 1, , his servants found him in his tent kneeling in prayer at the bedside. He was dead. His men buried his heart but embalmed the body and carried it to the mission of the Holy Ghost fathers at Bagamoyo. It reached England, where it was identified by the lion wound in the left shoulder. No one made as many geographical discoveries in Africa as Livingstone, and his numerous scientific observations were quickly recognized.

He was right in using quinine as an ingredient for the cure of malaria. Regarding himself as a missionary to the end, Livingstone inspired many new enterprises such as the Makololo, Ndebele, and Tanganyika missions of his own society, the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, and the Livingstonia Mission of the Church of Scotland. His life caught the imagination of the Christian world.

Livingstone drew the world's attention to the great evil of the African slave traffic. He taught the world to see the African as "wronged" rather than depraved, and the world did not rest until slavery was outlawed. He saw the cure for it in Christianity and commerce and also inspired enterprises such as the African Lakes Company. But in his wake came also European settlement and the colonial scramble for Africa with all its ambiguities.

Although the Zambezi expedition proved that Livingstone was no ideal leader for white men, he nevertheless greatly influenced men who knew him, such as Stanley, John Kirk, and James Stewart. He made a lasting impression on the Africans he met, which was amply attested to by those who followed him. His peaceful intentions and moral courage were immediately recognized.

Still good is William G. Blaikie, The personal life of David Livingstone ; repr. Wallis, ed. Livingstone undertook another expedition to Africa, landing at Zanzibar in early and going on to find more bodies of water, with the hope of locating the source of the Nile River. He eventually ended up in the village of Nyangwe, where he witnessed a devastating massacre where Arabic slave traders killed hundreds of people.

With the explorer thought to be lost, a transatlantic venture was developed by the London Daily Telegraph and New York Herald , and journalist Henry Stanley was sent to Africa to find Livingstone. Stanley located the physician in Ujiji in late , and upon seeing him, uttered the now-well-known words, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume? Livingstone chose to stay, and he and Stanley parted ways in His body was eventually transported to and buried at Westminster Abbey.

Livingstone has been positioned as a staunch abolitionist who believed in the dignity of Africans, the viability of commercial enterprises for the continent and the imposition of Christianity, despite Indigenous spiritual beliefs. His findings contained hitherto unknown details about the continent that led to European nations seizing African land in imperialistic zeal, which some speculate Livingstone would have opposed.

A copy of Livingstone's diary entries can be found at the website of the David Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project , which chronicles his time in Nyangwe and sheds light on his place as a complex historical figure. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled.

While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving.