John Hanning Speke

@Discoverer of the Source of the Nile, Facts and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ John Hanning Speke was an English explorer who became the first European to reach Lake Victoria in east Africa British Miscellaneous Explorers Taurus Celebrities John Hanning Speke was an English explorer who became the first European to reach Lake Victoria in east Africa. Before embarking on his exploratory expeditions to Africa Speke had been an officer in the British Indian Army. Later on he joined Richard Burton on an expedition to Africa with the intention of searching for the great lake that was believed to be the origin of the river Nile. He received considerable fame for his search for the source of the Nile and correctly identified Lake Victoria as the source of the river. The source of the river Nile, generally regarded as the longest river in the world, had been puzzling explorers from the past several centuries and several expeditions had already been undertaken to establish the river’s source. Ultimately it was Speke who correctly identified the long-sought source of the river though his results were rejected by Burton who was not with Speke at the time of the discovery. This gave rise to a bitter feud between the two men regarding the actual source of the Nile and a debate was planned in order to shed more light on the issue. However, Speke died under mysterious circumstances before the debate could take place. Years later, it was finally proven that Speke had been right all along about Lake Victoria being the source of the Nile.

Personal Details

Birthday: May 4, 1827 Died on: September 15, 1864 Nationality: British Famous: Discoverer of the Source of the Nile, Miscellaneous, Explorers Birth Place: Somerset Gender: Male Sun Sign: Taurus Information Detail Birthday May 4, 1827 Died on September 15, 1864 Nationality British Famous Discoverer of the Source of the Nile, Miscellaneous, Explorers Birth Place Somerset Gender Male Sun Sign Taurus Born in Somerset Famous as Discoverer of the source of the Nile Died at Age 37

Somerset

John Hanning Speke born at Unsplash Birth Place

While in Africa, he fell in love with an 18 year old girl called Meri. However, his love was one-sided and he was heart-broken by his inability to win the girl’s heart. Unsplash Personal Life

On 15 September 1864 John Hanning Speke went for an afternoon’s shooting at Neston Park in Wiltshire. There he died from a self-inflicted gunshot. It remains uncertain whether it was an accident or suicide. He was buried in Dowlish Wake, Somerset, the ancestral home of the Speke family. Unsplash Personal Life

Not much is known about John Hanning Speke’s early life except for the fact that he was born on 4 May 1827 at Orleigh Court, Buckland Brewer near Bideford, North Devon. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

John Hanning Speke was commissioned into the British army in 1844 and posted to India. There he served in the First Anglo-Sikh War in Punjab under Sir Colin Campbell. He was an adventurous young man who explored the Himalayan Mountains during his leaves. He also travelled to Tibet once. Unsplash Later Life

In 1854, Speke obtained overseas leave and made his first voyage to Africa. He wanted to cross the Gulf of Aden and collect specimens in Somaliland for his family's natural history museum in Somerset. However, he was denied permission for this journey as Somaliland was considered rather dangerous. Unsplash Later Life

Speke then joined Richard Burton, a famous explorer, on his expedition to Somalia. Burton was already accompanied by Lt William Stroyan and Lt. Herne, and Speke joined the group. The party faced a brutal attack by the Somalis in April 1855 in which Speke was severely wounded though he eventually managed to escape. Unsplash Later Life

Back to his duties, he served as a captain in a Turkish regiment at Kertch during the Crimean War (1855–1856). In late 1856, Speke was invited by Burton to join him on an expedition to search for the origin of the river Nile. Unsplash Later Life

Speke and Burton traveled to east Africa to find the Great Lakes and locate the much sought-after source of the Nile. They started from Zanzibar Island in June 1857 and explored the east African coast for six months, attempting to find the best route inland. They reached the Lake Tanganyika in February 1858. Unsplash Later Life

John Hanning Speke was the first European to reach Lake Victoria in east Africa which he named in the honor of Queen Victoria. He also identified the lake as the source of river Nile. His finding, though greatly debated upon during his lifetime, was proven to be correct years after his death. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	May 4, 1827
Died on	September 15, 1864
Nationality	British
Famous	Discoverer of the Source of the Nile, Miscellaneous, Explorers
Birth Place	Somerset
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Taurus
Born in	Somerset
Famous as	Discoverer of the source of the Nile
Died at Age	37

John Hanning Speke

British

May 4, 1827

Biography

Personal Details

Somerset