Explorer. Born Devon. The first European, while on an expedition with Richard Burton to East Africa in 1858, to discover Lake Victoria. On a subsequent journey with James Grant in 1862, he confirmed its northern outlet as the source of the Nile. Burton queried whether Speke really had found the source of the Nile and the two fell out. Murchison arranged a debate between them. Two days before this debate Speke left a lunch where Burton was present, to go on a partridge shoot. Climbing over a wall he shot himself. Suicide was suspected but never proved. Since his death there have been suggestions that he was a repressed homosexual, although he is known to have fathered a child in Buganda, and even that he and Burton had had an intimate relationship.
Other Subjects
Thomas Honey
Role on the lost expedition: Officer on SS Terror. See John Franklin.
1 memorial
Christopher Columbus
Explorer. Born in the Republic of Genoa (his birth date is approximate). From 1492 to 1504, he made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean under the auspices of the monarchs of Spain. These voyages...
Person, Exploring, Race Issues, Seriously Famous, Caribbean Islands, Cuba, Italy, Spain, USA
1 memorial
Amy Johnson
Pioneering pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records during the 1930s. Born Yorkshire. ...
1 memorial
Edward Little
Role on the lost expedition: Officer on SS Terror. See John Franklin.
1 memorial
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