James Richardson (born November 3 1809 in Boston, Lincolnshire; died March 4 1851 in Ngurutua near Kuka, Bornu) Richardson made an expedition in 1845 from Tunis and Tripoli in Libya to Ghadames and Ghat in the middle of the Sahara. Here he collected information about the Tuareg and arrived after nine months back again in Tripoli. After he had published "Travels into the great desert of Sahara" (2 Books. London 1849), he succeeded to convince the British government to equip an expedition into Sudan and to the Chad lake. In March 1850 Richardson went for the second time to Ghat accompanied by Heinrich Barth and Adolf Overweg. He was the first European to cross the stony elevated plain of the Hammada. James Richardson died on this journey on 4 March 1851 in Ngurutua, a six day journey away from Kuka. His travel notes and diaries were published by Bayle Saint John: "Narrative of a mission to Central Africa". 2 Books. London (1853) and "Travels in Morocco". 2 Books. London (1859).
