Sir richard francis burton biography
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Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: The Secret Agent Who Made the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Discovered the Kama Sutra and Brought the Arabian Nights to the West
Burton leaves India for Africa just months before the Sepoy Rebellion. The account of his East African exploration in search of the Nile River’s source is very tough reading. He traveled with John Hanning Speke and this was not a happy partnership. How these men pushed on thr
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Richard Francis Burton
British explorer, writer, scholar and army officer (–)
For other people named Richard Burton, see Richard Burton (disambiguation).
CaptainSir Richard Francis Burton, KCMG, FRGS, (19 March – 20 October ) was a British explorer, army officer, writer and scholar.[1][2] He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa and South amerika, as well as his extensive knowledge of languages and cultures, speaking up to 29 different languages.[3]
Born in Torquay, Devon, Burton joined the Bombay Army as an officer in , beginning an eighteen-year military career which included a brief stint in the Crimean War. He was subsequently engaged bygd the Royal Geographical samhälle (RGS) to explore the East African coast, where Burton along with John Hanning Speke led an expedition to discover the source of the Nile and became the first European known to have seen Lake Tanganyika. He later served as the British consul in Fernando Pó,
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Sir Richard Burton biography
Sir Richard Francis Burton FRGS ( – ) was a 19th century explorer, soldier, author and linguist. A true polymath who gained a reputation for speaking over twenty languages, including Gujrati, Punjabi and Marathi, and translating the Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra. His achievements in exploration and geography are equally noteworthy, exploring Asia, Africa and the Americas.
It is important to note that many of Burtons activities and views were considered contentious during his lifetime. He co-founded the Anthropological Society of London with James Hunt, an organisation booed in for its pro-slavery stance and advocation for the racist theory of polygenism. As a Victorian explorer who took full advantage of the British Empire, most of us today would find Burtons expeditions and views unethical.
Exploration
In , under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society, Burton completed the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage of Musli