J. H. (John Henry) Patterson

Born in 1867, John Henry Patterson was an Anglo-Irish army officer, engineer, hunter, and author whose name is most closely tied to The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (1907). That book grew out of his time overseeing part of the Uganda Railway in East Africa, where he recorded the notorious lion attacks that later made his story famous far beyond the world of travel and military writing.

Patterson also wrote about war and politics as well as adventure. His later books include With the Zionists in Gallipoli and With the Judaeans in the Palestine Campaign, reflecting his role in commanding Jewish military units during World War I. Across his writing, he comes across as a vivid eyewitness narrator, turning his own experiences into dramatic, highly readable nonfiction.

He died in 1947, but his reputation has lasted through both his books and the many retellings of his life. Readers often come to Patterson for the famous Tsavo story, then stay for the unusual mix of imperial history, travel narrative, and personal memoir found across his work.