Richard Henry Major

author

Richard Henry Major

1818–1891

A Victorian geographer and map librarian, he helped bring early travel narratives and rare cartographic sources to a wider reading public. His work at the British Museum and with the Hakluyt Society made him an important guide to the history of exploration.

2 Audiobooks

O descobrimento da Australia pelos portuguezes em 1601

O descobrimento da Australia pelos portuguezes em 1601

by Richard Henry Major

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

by Richard Henry Major

About the author

Richard Henry Major was an English geographer, historian, and librarian born in London on October 3, 1818. He is best known for his long connection with the British Museum, where he was placed in charge of maps and charts in 1844 and later became keeper of the newly created Department of Maps and Charts in 1867.

Alongside his museum work, he played a major part in publishing historical documents about voyages and exploration. He served as honorary secretary of the Hakluyt Society from 1849 to 1858, and his editions and studies helped nineteenth-century readers rediscover early accounts of travel, discovery, and cartography.

His books include works on Prince Henry the Navigator, early voyages to Terra Australis, and the life of Prince Henry of Portugal. Remembered as a careful scholar of maps and exploration history, he died on June 25, 1891.