Born June 8, 1821,
Gloucestershire, England
Died December 30, 1893,
Sanford Orleigh, Devon, England

Florence Baker

Unlike other famous nineteenth-century explorers of Africa, Sir Samuel White Baker did not need sponsorship from the British government. He was independently wealthy and was able to finance expeditions from his own resources. After meeting his future wife, Florence, Baker traveled with her for years through the Nile River basin, where in 1864 they became the first Europeans to see Lake Albert. Soon afterward they also discovered nearby Murchison Falls, now called Kabalega (or Kabarega) Falls. In 1866 Baker was knighted by the British Crown, and in 1869 he was appointed governor of the Equatorial Nile Basin.

Baker was born in the county of Gloucestershire, England, on June 8, 1821. His father, a wealthy sugar merchant, owned estates in the Caribbean and on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean...