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Sir Henry Morton Stanley

Journalist and explorer
Born January 28, 1841(1841-01-28)
Denbigh, Wales
Died May 10, 1904 (aged 63)
London, England

Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands (January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904), was a Welsh-American journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted For the game see 1841 (board game. Year 1841 ( MDCCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link Denbigh (Dinbych is a Market town in Denbighshire, North Wales. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath) is a British Order of chivalry founded by George Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted For the game see 1841 (board game. Year 1841 ( MDCCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on In the 2000 Census 175 million Americans reported Welsh ancestry, 0 This list of explorers is sorted by surname See also the links below. Dr David Livingstone (19 March 1813 &ndash 1 May 1873 was a British Congregationalist pioneer medical Missionary with the London Missionary Society Stanley is often remembered for the words uttered to Livingstone upon finding him: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?", although there is some question as to authenticity of this now famous greeting.

Contents

Biography

He was born in Denbigh, Wales. Denbigh (Dinbych is a Market town in Denbighshire, North Wales. At the time, his mother, Elizabeth Parry, was nineteen years old. According to Stanley himself, his father, John Rowlands, was an alcoholic; there is some doubt as to his true parentage. [1] The parents were unmarried, so his birth certificate refers to him as a bastard, and the stigma of illegitimacy weighed heavily upon him all his life. In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the He was raised by his grandfather until the age of five. When his guardian died, the boy stayed at first with cousins and nieces for a short time, but was eventually sent to St. Asaph Union Workhouse for the poor, where overcrowding and lack of supervision resulted in frequent abuse by the older boys. A workhouse, colloquially known as a spike was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work When he was ten, his mother and two siblings stayed for a short while in this workhouse, without John Rowlands realizing who they were. He stayed until the age of 15. After completing an elementary education, he was employed as a pupil teacher in a National School. A national school is a type of School. England and Wales See also Education in England, Education in Wales Historically In 1859, at the age of 18, he made his passage to the United States in search of a new life. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Upon arriving in New Orleans, he absconded. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana According to his own declarations, he became friendly with a wealthy trader named Stanley, whose name he later assumed. This adoptive parent soon died afterwards. He assumed a local accent and began denying being a foreigner.

He participated reluctantly in the American Civil War, first with the Confederate Army, and was soon taken prisoner. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South He promptly went over to the other side and deserted. He then joined the Navy, but deserted again.

He then began a career as a journalist, visiting mines, reporting on a conflict with Native Americans, and joining an expedition to establish the course of a river. He organized an expedition to the Ottoman Empire that ended in catastrophe when he got mixed up in a sword fight with a Turk. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish He finished up in jail, but somehow talked himself out of it and even got damages for lost equipment.

Stanley was recruited in 1867 by Colonel Samuel Forster Tappan (a one-time journalist) of the Indian Peace Commission to serve as a correspondent to cover the work of the Commission for several newspapers. Stanley was soon retained exclusively by James Gordon Bennett (1795-1872), founder of the New York Herald, who was impressed by Stanley's exploits and by his direct style of writing. James Gordon Bennett ( 1 September 1795 &ndash 1 June 1872) was the founder editor and publisher of the New York Herald The New York Herald was a large distribution Newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835 and 1924 This early period of his professional life is described in Volume I of his book My Early Travels and Adventures in America and Asia (1895). He became one of the Herald's overseas correspondents and, in 1869, was instructed by Bennett's son to find the Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone, who was known to be in Africa but had not been heard from for some time. The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland. Dr David Livingstone (19 March 1813 &ndash 1 May 1873 was a British Congregationalist pioneer medical Missionary with the London Missionary Society According to Stanley's account, he asked James Gordon Bennett, Jr. (1841 -1918), who had succeeded to the paper's management at his father's retirement in 1867, how much he could spend. James Gordon Bennett Jr ( May 10, 1841 in &ndash May 14, 1918 in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritimes, France The reply was "Draw £1,000 now, and when you have gone through that, draw another £1,000, and when that is spent, draw another £1,000, and when you have finished that, draw another £1,000, and so on — BUT FIND LIVINGSTONE!" Actually Stanley had lobbied his employer for several years to mount this expedition, that would give him presumably fame and fortune. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" A contemporary illustration.
"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" A contemporary illustration.
Portrait of Stanley by Alice Pike Barney.
Portrait of Stanley by Alice Pike Barney. Alice Pike Barney (born Alice Pike, January 14, 1857 &ndash 1931 was an American painter.

Stanley travelled to Zanzibar in March 1871 and outfitted an expedition with the best of everything, requiring no fewer than 200 porters. Zanzibar ( is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who carries objects This 700-mile expedition through the tropical forest became a nightmare. His thoroughbred stallion died within a few days by tsetse fly, many of his carriers deserted and the rest were decimated by tropical diseases. This page is about the insect For other meanings see Tsetse (disambiguation. To keep the expedition going, he had to take stern measures, flogging deserters. He had to fight his way through tribal lands, but always tried first diplomacy and the exchanging of gifts before opening fire. [2] Harsh treatment of carriers was not uncommon, it was even practiced by missionaries. But Stanley's diaries show that he had exaggerated the brutal treatment of his carriers in his books, to pander to the taste of his Victorian public.

He found Livingstone on November 10, 1871, in Ujiji near Lake Tanganyika in present-day Tanzania, and greeted him with the now famous, "Dr. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Ujiji is the oldest town in western Tanzania almost due west from Zanzibar. Lake Tanganyika is a large Lake in central Africa (3° 20' to 8° 48' South and from 29° 5' to 31° 15' East Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Livingstone, I presume?" This famous phrase may be a fabrication, as Stanley has torn out the pages of this encounter in his diary[3] Even Livingstone's account of this encounter doesn't mention these words. However, a summary of Stanley's letters that the New York Times published on July 2, 1872 quotes the phrase. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1872 ( MDCCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year [4] The Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography both quote the phrase without questioning its validity. The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885

The Herald's own first account of the meeting, published July 2, 1872, also includes the phrase: "Preserving a calmness of exterior before the Arabs which was hard to simulate as he reached the group, Mr. Stanley said: -- `Doctor Livingstone, I presume?' A smile lit up the features of the hale white man as he answered: `YES, THAT IS MY NAME' . . . "

Stanley joined Livingstone in exploring the region, establishing for certain that there was no connection between Lake Tanganyika and the River Nile. The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River On his return, he wrote a book about his experiences : How I Found Livingstone; travels, adventures, and discoveries in Central Africa. [5] This brought him into the public eye and gave him some financial success. Stanley had evoked in his book a fine picture of Livingstone while hiding his annoying sides. This made Livingstone almost an instant saint into the eyes of the public and he would become an example for many future missionaries. Stanley was first hailed as a hero, but soon was treated with epithets as "bully". His lower class birth became known and promptly denied. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types This made him lose the respect of the upper class Victorians who chided his sangfroid "I presume" statement. Is a concept in Sociology that refers to the group of people at the top of a Social hierarchy. Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria (reigned 1837 - 1901 in particular and to the moral climate

In 1874, the New York Herald, in partnership with Britain's Daily Telegraph, then financed him on another expedition to the African continent, one of his achievements being to solve the last great mystery of African exploration by tracing the course of the River Congo to the sea. The New York Herald was a large distribution Newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835 and 1924 For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. The Congo River (for a time known as the Zaire River) is the largest River in Western Central Africa. Leaving from Zanzibar, this would become an epic, sometimes nightmarish expedition through dark Africa that still appeals to one's imagination. Zanzibar ( is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the He used sectional boats to pass the great cataracts. As he had seen before in his previous expedition, inner Africa was being plundered by slave traders. Previously thriving areas had become bare and depopulated. This convinced him that the slave trade had to be stopped. However, this didn't stop Stanley of involving one of the most important slave traders in his expedition through financial contributions. After 999 days, on August 9, 1877, Stanley reached a Portuguese outpost at the mouth of the river Congo. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Starting with 356 people, only 114 had survived of which Stanley was the only European survivor.

He wrote about his trials in his book Through the Dark Continent,[6] describing his expedition as if it were a conquest.

Stanley was approached by the ambitious Belgian king Leopold II, who in 1876 had organized a private holding company disguised as an international scientific and philanthropic association, which he called the International African Society. Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909 was King of the Belgians. The Association Internationale Africaine was an organization created by King Léopold II of Belgium to further Humanitarian projects in the area of The king spoke about his plans to introduce Western civilization and to bring religion to this part Africa, but didn't mention he wanted to claim the lands. Stanley returned to the Congo, negotiated with tribal chiefs and obtained fair concessions (that were later falsified to his advantage by the king). But Stanley refused to impose treaties on the chiefs that yielded sovereignty over their land. He built new roads to open the country, but this also gave advantage to the slave traders. And when Stanley discovered that the king had other plans, he remained on his payroll.

In later years he spent much energy defending himself against charges that his African expeditions had been marked by callous violence and brutality. Stanley's opinion was that "the savage only respects force, power, boldness, and decision. " Stanley would eventually be held responsible for a number of deaths and was indirectly responsible for helping establish the rule of Léopold II of Belgium over the Congo Free State. Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909 was King of the Belgians. The Congo Free State was a Corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II King of the Belgians through a dummy non-governmental organization the In addition, the spread of African trypanosomiasis across central Africa is attributed to the movements of Stanley's enormous baggage train and the Emin Pasha relief expedition. Trypanosomiasis or trypanosomosis is the name of several diseases in Vertebrates caused by parasitic Protozoan Trypanosomes of the genus

In 1886, Stanley led the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition to "rescue" Emin Pasha, the governor of Equatoria in the southern Sudan. The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1886 to 1889 was one of the last major European expedition into the interior of Africa in the nineteenth century ostensibly Mehmet Emin Pasha ( March 28, 1840 &ndash October 23, 1892) born Isaak Eduard Schnitzer, baptized (c For the Astrometrical device please refer to Equatorium Equatoria ( Al-Istiwa'iyah in Arabic) began as a province Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. King Leopold II demanded that Stanley take the longer route, via the Congo river, hoping to acquire more territory and perhaps even Equatoria. After immense hardships and great loss of life, Stanley met Emin in 1888, discovered the Ruwenzori Range and Lake Edward, and emerged from the interior with Emin and his surviving followers at the end of 1890. Lake Edward or Edward Nyanza is the smallest of the Great Lakes of Africa. (Turnbull, 1983) But this expedition tarnished Stanley's name because of the conduct of the other Europeans : British gentlemen and army officers. An army major was shot by a carrier, after behaving with extreme cruelty. James Jameson, heir to an Irish whiskey manufacturer, bought an eleven-year old girl and offered her to cannibals to document and sketch how she was cooked and eaten. Stanley only found out when Jameson had died of fever. Previous expeditions had given Stanley satisfaction, but this one only had caused disaster.

On his return to Europe, he married Welsh artist Dorothy Tennant, and they adopted a child, Denzil. Dorothy Tennant ( 22 March, 1855 - 5 October, 1926) was a Victorian neoclassicist painter born in London. Stanley entered Parliament as Liberal Unionist member for Lambeth North, serving from 1895 to 1900. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories The Liberal Unionists were a British political party that split away from the Liberals in 1886 and had effectively merged with the Conservatives by the Lambeth North was a Borough constituency centred on the Lambeth district of South London. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year He became Sir Henry Morton Stanley when he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1899, in recognition of his service to the British Empire in Africa. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath) is a British Order of chivalry founded by George He died in London on May 10, 1904; at his funeral, he was eulogized by Daniel P. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on Virmar. His grave, in the churchyard of St. Michael's Church in Pirbright, Surrey, is marked by a large piece of granite inscribed with the words "Henry Morton Stanley, Bula Matari, 1841-1904, Africa". Pirbright is a village in Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include Worplesdon, Deepcut, Brookwood and Normandy Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. (Bula Matari, or "Breaker of Rocks" in Kikongo, was Stanley's name among Africans in Congo. )

Modern Culture

Henry Morton Stanley's grave in Pirbright, Surrey
Henry Morton Stanley's grave in Pirbright, Surrey

In 1939, a popular film called Stanley and Livingstone was released, with Spencer Tracy as Stanley and Cedric Hardwicke as Livingstone. Pirbright is a village in Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include Worplesdon, Deepcut, Brookwood and Normandy Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. Stanley and Livingstone is a 1939 movie about reporter Sir Henry M Spencer Tracy ( April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was a two-time Academy Award -winning Actor of stage and Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke KBE (19 February 1893 - 6 August 1964 was a notable English actor

In 1968 Ray Thomas wrote a song entitled, "Dr. Ray Thomas (born on 29 December, 1941, in Stourport-on-Severn, England) is an English musician best known as the Flutist Livingstone, I Presume," which was released on the Moody Blues album, In Search Of The Lost Chord. The Moody Blues are an English psychedelic rock band originally from Erdington in the city of Birmingham. In Search of the Lost Chord, released in 1968 was the second album by The Moody Blues ' Psychadelic -era line-up

There is also a book called "The man who presumed". . . which tells the story of his life as an explorer.

In 1973 Uriah Heep (band) recorded 'Sunshine' about Stanley and the Nile. Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in December 1969 when record producer Gerry Bron invited keyboardist Ken Hensley (previously Recorded at 'Sweet Freedom' sessions, originally b-side of 'Stealin' single. Included as a bonus track on remastered cd version 1996. [7]

In 1986 Opera Soft released a 2-D platform game featuring H. Opera Soft was one the most prolific Spanish Computer game developers of the so-called Golden Age of Spanish software of the 1980s M. Stanley as the main character as he searches for Dr. Livingstone in Africa.

An NES game based on his life was released in 1992 called "Stanley: The Search for Dr. The Nintendo Entertainment System (often abbreviated as NES or simply Nintendo) is an 8-bit Video game console that was released by Livingston. "[8]

In 1997, a made for television movie called "Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone" was produced by National Geographic. Stanley was portrayed by Aidan Quinn and Livingstone was portrayed by Nigel Hawthorne.

Stanley Electric Co. , Ltd. , uses Stanley's family name in honour of his discoveries "that have brought light into many spots of the world undiscovered and hitherto unknown to mankind". [9] The company produces light emitting diodes, liquid crystal displays, and lamps.

His great grandson, Richard Stanley, is a South African filmmaker and directs documentaries. Richard Stanley (born 22 November 1966) is a Film director and Screenwriter born in South Africa. [10]

There is a hospital in St. Asaph, North Wales named after H. St Asaph ( Welsh: Llanelwy) is a town in Denbighshire, North Wales, on the River Elwy. North Wales (Gogledd Cymru is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales, bordered to the south by Mid Wales and to the east by England. M. Stanley in honor of his birth in the area. It was the former workhouse he spent much of his early life in.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Dictionary of Welsh Biography
  2. ^ John Carey (18 March 2007). In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the A good man in Africa ?. TIMES Online. The Sunday Times. Retrieved on 2007-11-15. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria.
  3. ^ Jeal, Tim (2007). Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571221025.  
  4. ^ "THE SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTON: Progress of the Englishman Stanley -- Fierce Encounter with Arabs -- Arrival at the Coast -- The Great Explorer Remains Two Years More in Africa", London, July 1 New York Times, July 2, 1872. Accessed May 19, 2008.
  5. ^ Stanley, Henry M. (19 February 2002). How I Found Livingstone; travels, adventures, and discoveres in Central Africa. Dover Publications. ISBN 0486419533.  
  6. ^ Stanley, Henry M. (1988). Through the Dark Continent. Dover Publications, 432 pages. ISBN 0486256677.  
  7. ^ "Sunshine" by Uriah Heep
  8. ^ Stanley: The Search for Dr. Livingston
  9. ^ Stanley Electric Co., Ltd., profile
  10. ^ Biography for Richard Stanley

References

Further reading

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Francis Moses Colwells		 Member of Parliament for Lambeth North
1895–1900		 Succeeded by
Frederick William Horner
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Lambeth North was a Borough constituency centred on the Lambeth district of South London. The UK general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895 The United Kingdom general election of 1900 was held from 25 September to 24 October 1900
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