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Henry StanleyAmerican journalist and African researcher
Date of Birth: 28.06.1841
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Henry Morton Stanley
- Merchant Marine and Desertion
- Shipwrecks and Warfare
- Exploration with David Livingstone
- Exploration of Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River
- Colonial Expansion and the Congo Free State
- Rescue of Emin Pasha
- Later Years and Legacy
Henry Morton Stanley
Early Life and EducationHenry Morton Stanley was born on January 28, 1841, in Denbigh, Wales. Abandoned by his mother, he was raised by relatives until the age of six, when he was sent to a workhouse school. At 15, he assaulted a schoolmaster and fled the school.
Merchant Marine and Desertion
Stanley became a sailor and traveled to New Orleans, where he deserted his ship. When the American Civil War broke out, he served as a clerk in a country store in Arkansas. He joined the Confederate army but was captured at the Battle of Shiloh and imprisoned in Chicago. Later, he enlisted in the Union army but was soon discharged due to health reasons.
Shipwrecks and Warfare
After joining the merchant marine, Stanley was involved in a shipwreck off the coast of Spain. He then joined a Union warship but deserted shortly before the end of the war and headed west, where he reported on Indian campaigns for various newspapers.
Exploration with David Livingstone
In 1867-1868, Stanley covered the British war in Abyssinia as a correspondent for the "New York Herald." He was subsequently commissioned to find the missing missionary and explorer David Livingstone. In 1871, he crossed from Zanzibar to mainland Africa to begin his search. On November 3rd, he located the ailing Livingstone in Ujiji, Tanzania, and nursed him back to health.
Exploration of Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River
Stanley and Livingstone then explored Lake Tanganyika together. As a correspondent, Stanley covered the British army's campaign against the Ashanti (Ghana). In 1874, he embarked on a second African expedition, sailing along Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika. He ventured inland and embarked on a 999-day journey down the Congo River to the Atlantic Ocean.
Colonial Expansion and the Congo Free State
From 1879-1884, Stanley worked to establish settlements in the territories he had discovered. He accepted King Leopold II of Belgium's offer to lead an expedition to the Congo Basin and played a major role in the creation of the Congo Free State (later Belgian Congo).
Rescue of Emin Pasha
In 1887, Stanley embarked on his final expedition to Africa to rescue Emin Pasha, the governor of the Equatoria Province of Egypt. Only 196 of the expedition's 708 members survived. Ironically, Emin Pasha refused to be evacuated.
Later Years and Legacy
Stanley returned to England in 1892 as a British subject and unsuccessfully ran for Parliament that year. However, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1895. He was knighted in 1899 and received the Order of the Bath. Stanley died in London on May 10, 1904.
