He began his life in 1813 as the son of a devoutly religious Sunday School teacher, and the spiritual zeal of his father shaped David's own views of the world. But besides an interest in theology, young David also had a keen interest in nature and the world around him. Besides his own father, he was also heavily influenced by missionaries and preachers of the time. At the age of 23, he began studying medicine with the goal of using that knowledge to further his own missionary calling. He joined the London Missionary Society and trained as a missionary.
While training, he met fellow missionary Robert Moffat who told stories of the vast regions of southern Africa that missionaries had never yet reached. Livingstone was drawn to the challenge and was sent to Africa in 1840. He married one of Moffat's daughter, Mary, and eventually had 6 children with her. His drive to explore made him a poor “family man” and his wife and children spent quite a bit of time living in England without him.
Livingstone Discovers Victoria Falls
It wasn't long before he became disillusioned with the missionary process and the methods used to preach Christianity at the time. His desire to explore led him to pusher farther into Africa, particularly after the mission he was based at closed after a severe drought. It was during this first bout of exploration between 1852 and 1856 that Dr. Livingstone became the first European to see the grand Victoria Falls. They were knows by the natives as “the smoke that thunders” (Mosi-oa-Tunya). He named them after the queen of England. Today, Victoria Falls are still known as the tallest waterfall in the world.
He crossed the southern end of Africa from one coast to the other, something few other Europeans had done. Some of his success came from his practice of traveling light, and not intimidating the local chiefs and tribal leaders. He was drawn to the Zambezi River and believed that he could open up large regions of Africa to future missionary work, once the river was mapped and explored.
The Zambezi Expedition
For all his enthusiasm, the Zambezi expedition was short-lived after reaching the Cabora Bassa rapids, which could not be crossed by boat. The failure of the expedition was an embarrassment to Livingstone and did put a dent in his reputation. The expedition came to an end in 1864, and it was during this time that Livingstone's wife died of malaria after coming to Africa to rejoin her husband.
Other notable explorations were his attempt to find the source of the Nile, which ended up being incorrect. He also discovered several large lakes and mapped many of the African rivers of the region. He became so entrenched in his travels that the rest of the world lost track of Dr. Livingstone for 6 years. He was “found” in 1871, living by the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The moment of his rediscovery has been made famous by the remark made by Henry Stanley, another explorer who was dispatched to find the missing Livingstone. When the two met, Stanley asked simply, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”. Whether or not these exact words were spoke is up for debate.
His Death
The two continued with some exploration together, then Stanley left Africa the next year. Not long after, Dr. David Livingstone died of malaria on May 1, 1873. His loyal attendants carried his body for more than a thousand miles to be returned to civilization. He was buried at Westminster Abbey in Britain.
Though is career as an African explorer was far from perfect, his life remains as an example of courage, curiosity and determination.
Sources:
BBC UK History website
Livingstone Online website
Darlene Vaillancourt - I have been studying and researching my own family tree for many years and have thousands of ancestors in my tree, going back dozens of ...
