Kingsley, Mary Henrietta

Kingsley, Mary Henrietta

▪ English traveler
born Nov. 13, 1862, London
died June 3, 1900, Simonstown, near Cape Town, Cape Colony [now in South Africa]
 English traveler who, disregarding the conventions of her time, journeyed through western and equatorial Africa and became the first European to enter parts of Gabon.

      A niece of the clergyman and author Charles Kingsley, she led a secluded life until she was about 30, when she decided to go to West Africa to study African religion and law, with a view to completing a book left unfinished by her deceased father, George Henry Kingsley. During 1893 and 1894 she visited Cabinda, the coastal enclave of Angola lying today between Congo (Kinshasa) and Congo (Brazzaville); Old Calabar in southeast Nigeria; and the island of Fernando Po, now part of Equatorial Guinea, near the Cameroon coast. Around the lower Congo River she collected specimens of beetles and freshwater fishes for the British Museum. Returning to Africa in December 1894, she visited the French Congo and, in Gabon, ascended the Ogooué River through the country of the Fang, a tribe with a reputation for cannibalism. On this journey she had many harrowing adventures and narrow escapes. She then visited Corisco Island, off Gabon, and also climbed Mount Cameroon.

      After returning to England with valuable natural history collections, she lectured widely throughout the country about her travels (1896–99). Her writings, which express her strong sympathies for black Africans, include Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899). She died while nursing sick prisoners during the South African (Boer) War.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Kingsley, Mary Henrietta — (1862 1900)    Traveller, dau. of George Henry K. (himself a traveller, and author of South Sea Bubbles, a very successful book), and niece of Charles K. (q.v.). She travelled in West Africa, where she made valuable observations and collections.… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Mary Henrietta Kingsley — Mary Kingsley. Mary Henrietta Kingsley (* 13. Oktober 1862 in Islington;† 3. Juni 1900 in Simon’s Town, Südafrika) war eine englische Entdeckerin und Ethnologin mit großem Einfluss auf europäische Ideen über …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mary Kingsley — Mary Henrietta Kingsley Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an English writer and explorer who greatly influenced European ideas about Africa and African people Contents …   Wikipedia

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  • Mary Kingsley — Mary Henrietta Kingsley Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 octobre, 1862 – 3 juin, 1900) était une exploratrice anglaise et un écrivain qui a beaucoup influencé l Europe dans sa manière de considérer l Afrique et les africains. Mary Kingsley est …   Wikipédia en Français

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