Table of Contents
What challenges did Mary Kingsley face?
In 1898, she contracted influenza and typhoid, which left her very weak. In 1898, Kingsley volunteered to go to South Africa during the Boer War in order to nurse prisoners. She caught enteric fever and became deathly ill.
What was Mary Kingsley known for?
Mary Henrietta Kingsley, (born October 13, 1862, London, England—died June 3, 1900, Simonstown, near Cape Town, Cape Colony [now in South Africa]), English traveler who, disregarding the conventions of her time, journeyed through western and equatorial Africa and became the first European to enter parts of Gabon.
What did Mary Kingsley bring back from her travels?
When she returned to Britain after her second African trip in 1895, Kingsley brought back impressive collections for the British Museum, with one brand-new species of fish, a new snake, and eight new insects.
When did Mary Kingsley travel to Africa?
Following the deaths of her parents, Kingsley embarked on a voyage to West Africa in August 1893, with the object of studying native religion and law and collecting zoological specimens.
Where did Mary Kingsley go on her trip?
Kingsley took a trip to the Canary Islands, off the coast of Spain. There she met ships’ captains and traders who did business with the tribes of the West African coast. They filled her imagination with stories of cannibals, mangrove swamps, strange fish and animals.
What kind of diseases did Mary Kingsley get?
The number and variety of illnesses was staggering and often disgusting: abscesses, infections, open sores, spear wounds, and parasitic diseases. Kingsley walked or canoed 70 miles through the jungle, but her travels seemed much farther because of the intensity of her relations with the local people,…
How did Mary Kingsley’s father and mother die?
Kingsley became fascinated with accounts of what she called “classic spots” in West Africa— places that were particularly dangerous, unknown, or exotic, and which required unusual strength, perseverance, and intelligence from the explorer. When Kingsley was 29, her father died unexpectedly in his sleep. Six weeks later, her mother also died.
Where was Mary Henrietta Kingsley born and raised?
It was a great achievement for someone with no scientific training. Mary Henrietta Kingsley was born in London on October 13, 1862, four days after her parents’ wedding. Her father, a wealthy physician, and her mother, his cook, had an uneasy marriage.