Mungo Park

Born in Selkirkshire, Scotland, in 1771, Mungo Park trained in medicine and worked as a surgeon before setting out for West Africa in the 1790s. He traveled under the sponsorship of the African Association and became one of the best-known British explorers of his era.

Park is remembered above all for his journeys along the Niger River. His first expedition brought him lasting fame, and his book Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa became widely read. It helped shape how many European readers imagined West Africa, while also recording the dangers, uncertainty, and isolation he faced on the road.

He returned to Africa on a second expedition in 1805. That journey ended in disaster, and he died in 1806 near Bussa on the Niger, in what is now Nigeria. Though some of his conclusions were later corrected, his travels remain an important part of the history of exploration and travel writing.