Livingstone Found: Stanley's Famous Greeting in Ujiji
Henry Morton Stanley, a journalist for the New York Herald, found the missionary and explorer David Livingstone in the town of Ujiji on the shores of Lake Tanganyika on November 10, 1871. The greeting 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?' became one of history's most quoted lines, though Stanley later tore the relevant page from his journal. Livingstone had been missing for six years, having plunged into Central Africa searching for the source of the Nile. He was ill, nearly out of supplies, and unable to leave. Stanley brought medicine, food, and letters from home. Livingstone refused to return to England, continuing his explorations until his death in 1873. Stanley's expedition was financed as a newspaper circulation stunt, but it opened Central Africa to European attention that quickly turned to colonial exploitation.
November 10, 1871
155 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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