author
Mungo Park
1771–1806
Drawn by medicine, science, and sheer nerve, this young Scottish explorer became famous for his journeys into West Africa and his efforts to trace the course of the Niger River. His vivid travel writing made him one of the best-known explorers of his age.
5 Audiobooks
Travels in the Interior of Africa — Volume 02
by Mungo Park
Travels in the Interior of Africa — Volume 01
by Mungo Park
Life and Travels of Mungo Park
by Mungo Park
About the author
Born in Selkirkshire, Scotland, in 1771, Mungo Park trained as a surgeon before turning to exploration. In the 1790s he traveled to West Africa under the sponsorship of the African Association, determined to investigate the Niger River, a major geographical mystery for Europeans at the time.
His first expedition brought him through extreme hardship, including illness and captivity, but he returned to Britain with a remarkable account of the journey. That book, Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa, was widely read and helped shape British ideas about the region, making Park a celebrated figure.
In 1805 he set out again, hoping to follow the Niger farther and settle unanswered questions about its course. The second expedition ended tragically, and he died in 1806 near Bussa on the Niger, in present-day Nigeria. Even so, his name remained closely tied to the early European exploration of West Africa.