David Livingstone
1813-1873
Scottish Missionary and Explorer
Born into a devoutly religious and hard-working family in Blantyre, Scotland, David Livingstone's faith and work habits would become the map and vessel for a lifetime of exploration. His parents impressed upon him the importance of spreading the Christian gospel. At age 10, he was put to work at a cotton mill, where he labored from six in the morning until eight at night. Afterwards, he went on to study, sometimes late into the night.
In 1836 he began medical school at Anderson's College in Glasgow, intending to become a medical missionary. It was there that he heard fellow Scotsman, Dr. Robert Moffat (1795-1883), speak of having seen, "The smoke of a thousand villages, where no missionary has ever been." In 1840 Livingstone set sail for Africa and arrived at Capetown on March 14, 1841.
David Livingstone. (The Library of Congress. Reproduced by permission.)He spent the next 15 years moving in and about the interior of this remarkable continent. It was a geographical delight to him and he learned all he could about its native population and their cultures. In time, he had occasion to meet the Boers and the Portuguese and developed an intense dislike for their inhumane treatment of the native Africans.
Eventually, he began working with Moffat as a medical missionary in the port town of Kuruman. His work took him into more remote parts of the country and, by the summer of 1842, he had already ventured farther north into Kalahari country than any other white man in history. He decided to leave Kuruman in hopes of spreading the gospel in new, untried areas. Apparently unhindered by typical needs for the companionship of countrymen, he moved to an inland village to learn African languages and customs. During a trek to Mabotsa where he hoped to establish another Christian mission, he was attacked and badly mauled by a lion. Although he recovered generally, he was never again able to fire a gun with any accuracy and was often at the mercy of jungle animals.
In 1845 Livingstone married Moffat's daughter, Mary. A combination of droughts and Livingstone's desire to spread Christianity caused them to relocate three times over the next five years. Eventually, Livingstone sent her and their four children back to Britain out of concern for their safety and their need for security and education.
Between 1853 and 1856, Livingstone traversed the entire continent, traveling an incredible 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of land along the Zambezi River, none of which had been touched by Europeans. On November 17, 1855, Livingstone laid eyes upon the awesome Victoria Falls. He had discovered most, but not all, of his "highway" when he returned to Britain and recorded his journeys in his first book, Missionary Travels.
Tragedy filled the next decade. In 1862 he embarked on what was later called the Zambezi Expedition, on behalf of the British government. Plans to navigate the Zambezi proved to be impractical and the expedition was finally recalled. Not in time, however, to avoid the death of Mary Livingstone who died during the journey. Two years later, the discovery of the impassable Murchison Cataracts shattered his hope of finding a waterway to central Africa. To Livingstone, this did not mean the end of his dream or his travels and he continued to explore Africa on his own terms.
After disappearing from the public eye for several years, a challenge to find Dr. Livingstone was issued. New York Herald staff reporter Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) took the challenge. He spent a year traveling through Africa before he had the opportunity to pose the famed understatement—"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"—upon encountering Livingstone.
Stanley offered to help Livingstone back to the coast, but he refused the offer and continued his travels. Livingstone died in 1871 at the age of 60.
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