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Captain John Hanning Speke (4 May 1827 – 15 September 1864) was an English explorer and military officer who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa. He is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile and was the first European to reach Lake Victoria (known to locals as Nam Lolwe in Dholuo and Nnalubaale or Ukerewe in ...
Sep 11, 2024 · John Hanning Speke (born May 3, 1827, Bideford, Devon, England—died September 15, 1864, near Corsham, Wiltshire) was a British explorer who was the first European to reach Lake Victoria in East Africa, which he correctly identified as a source of the Nile.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Life
- Search For The Nile Source 1856–1859
- Second Journey to The Source of The Nile, 1860-1861
- Return to London and Third Expedition
- Death
- Source of The Nile Is Settled, 1874–1877
- Legacy
Speke was born on 4 May 1827 at Orleigh Court, Buckland Brewer, near Bideford, North Devon. In 1844 he was commissioned into the British Army and posted to British India, where he served in the 46th Bengal Native Infantry under Sir Hugh Gough during the Punjab campaign and under Sir Colin Campbell during the First Anglo-Sikh War. He was promoted li...
In 1856, Speke and Burton went to East Africa to find the Great Lakes, which were rumored to exist in the center of the continent. It was hoped that the expedition would locate the source of the Nile. The journey, which started from Zanzibar Island in June 1857, where they stayed at the residence of Atkins Hamerton, the British consul, was extremel...
Together with James Augustus Grant, Speke left Portsmouth on 27 April 1860 and departed from Zanzibar in October 1860. The expedition approached the lake from the south west but Grant was often sick and was not able to travel with Speke much of the time. As during the first trip, in this period of history, Arab slave traders had created an atmosphe...
Speke and Grant now returned to England, where they arrived in June 1863 and were welcomed as genuine heroes. This did not last long in Speke's case however; disputes with Burton, who was relentless in his criticisms and a very compelling public speaker and gifted writer, left Speke's discoveries in less than an ideal light. Speke had also committe...
A debate was planned between Speke and Burton before the geographical section of the British Association in Bath on 16 September 1864, but Speke had died the previous afternoon from a self-inflicted gunshot wound while shooting at Neston Park in Wiltshire. A contemporary account of the events surrounding his death appeared in The Times: An inquest ...
In 1874–1877, Henry Stanley mounted a new expedition and took a boat along the entire shore of Lake Victoria; he established that Lake Tanganyika and the Nile were not connected in any way, and he explored the headwaters of Lake Edward. It was now proven that Speke had been right all along, and that the Nile flowed from Lake Victoria via Ripon Fall...
Eponyms
Two species of African reptiles are named in his honor: Speke's hinge-back tortoise, Kinixys spekii; and Speke's sand lizard, Heliobolus spekii. Three species of African mammals are named in his honor: the sitatunga, Tragelaphus spekii; Speke's gazelle, Gazella spekei; and Speke's pectinator, Pectinator spekei.
Film
The film Mountains of the Moon (1990), starring Scottish actor Iain Glenas Speke, related the story of the Burton-Speke controversy, portrayed as having been unjustifiably incited by Speke's publisher to stimulate book sales.
Jul 27, 2023 · Less is known of Mabruki, the other caravan leader, but he was later known as Mabruki Speke, and like Bombay became one of East Africa's great caravan leaders and was also a member of the Yoa tribe like Bombay.
- May 4, 1827
- September 15, 1864
Speke and Captain James Grant mapped a portion of Lake Victoria. In July 1862, Speke, unaccompanied by Grant, found the Nile's exit from the lake and named it Ripon Falls.
Apr 17, 2011 · The Expedition to Somaliland. (Note: Speke's first two expeditions took place under the leadership of Richard Burton. To avoid repetition, details are given in the article for Burton, while the notes below serve only to distinguish Speke's particular role and important diversions.)
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Speke, John Hanning (1827–64) Explorer in Africa; he joined Sir Richard *Burton on expeditions to Somalia and then Lake Tanganyika in 1858. While Burton was ill, Speke diverted to Lake Victoria, claiming it was the Nile source.
