Mary Kingsley spent most of her early life caring for her sick parents, with almost no schooling, teaching herself from her father's library. When they died in 1892, aged 30, she set off alone for West Africa. She canoed rivers, climbed Mount Cameroon, collected new fish species for the British Museum, and traded to pay her way. Back home her books and lectures challenged how Britain saw Africa. She died aged 37, nursing prisoners in South Africa.
Mary Kingsley
West Africa Explorer
EXTRA-ORDINARY TRAIT
CURIOSITY
JFDI PILLAR
I — INSTINCT
COUNTRY & REGION
England (UK & Ireland)
LIFESPAN
1862 – 1900
GENDER
Woman
EDITION
No.035
✦ DEFINING MOMENT
Waist deep in a West African swamp in her heavy black skirts, pushing on.
✦ ARCHIVAL DOSSIER
The Story
✦ VERIFIED QUOTE
“It is at these times you realise the blessing of a good thick skirt.”
✦ DID YOU KNOW?
That thick skirt saved her life when she fell into a spiked game pit.
✦ YOUR TURN
Where would you go if you finally had the chance?