Mungo Park

Park, Mungo

Park, Mungo (1771–1806). A child of the Scottish Enlightenment, Park's Edinburgh medical and botanical training and Sumatran experience led Banks to choose him to explore the interior of west Africa for the African Association in 1795. From the Gambian coast he reached the Niger near Segu, ending long controversy by proving that the river flowed eastwards. A more ambitious expedition for the British government ended in disaster in 1806 when Park was killed at Bussa much further down the Niger. His fate remained a mystery for 20 years, as did the termination of the Niger. Park's Travels of 1799 have remained in print ever since.

Roy C. Bridges

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JOHN CANNON. "Park, Mungo." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Park, Mungo." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-ParkMungo.html

JOHN CANNON. "Park, Mungo." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-ParkMungo.html

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Mungo Park

Mungo Park 1771–1806, British explorer in Africa, b. Selkirk, Scotland. After serving as a surgeon with the East India Company, he was employed by the African Association to explore the course of the Niger River. Traveling NE from the Gambia River, he reached the Niger at Segu and proceeded 300 mi (483 km) upstream to Bamako. On his return to England he published Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa (1799). He was sent (1805) by the government to trace the Niger to its mouth, but at Bussa he and his party were attacked in their canoes and Park was drowned.

Bibliography: See J. Thomson, Mungo Park and the River Niger (1890, repr. 1970).

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"Mungo Park." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Mungo Park." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Park-Mun.html

"Mungo Park." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Park-Mun.html

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Park, Mungo

Park, Mungo (1771–1806). A child of the Scottish Enlightenment, Park's Edinburgh medical and botanical training and Sumatran experience led Banks to choose him to explore the interior of west Africa for the African Association in 1795. From the Gambian coast he reached the Niger near Segu, ending long controversy by proving that the river flowed eastwards. A more ambitious expedition for the British government ended in disaster in 1806 when Park was killed at Bussa much further down the Niger.

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JOHN CANNON. "Park, Mungo." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Park, Mungo." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-ParkMungo.html

JOHN CANNON. "Park, Mungo." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-ParkMungo.html

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Park, Mungo

Park, Mungo (1771–1806) Scottish explorer. The African Association (forerunner of the Royal Geographical Society) asked Park to investigate the course of the River Niger (1795). Approaching from the Gambia, he explored c.450km (280mi) of the Upper Niger, a journey described in his Travels… (1799). On a second, government-sponsored expedition (1805), he and his companions were ambushed and killed.

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"Park, Mungo." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Park, Mungo." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-ParkMungo.html

"Park, Mungo." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-ParkMungo.html

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Park, Mungo

Park, Mungo (1771–1806) Scottish explorer. He undertook a series of explorations in West Africa (1795–97), among them being the navigation of the Niger. His experiences were recorded in his Travels in the Interior of Africa (1799). He drowned on a second expedition to the Niger (1805–06).

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"Park, Mungo." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Park, Mungo." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-ParkMungo.html

"Park, Mungo." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-ParkMungo.html

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Park, Mungo

Park, Mungo (1771–1806), explored the course of the Niger and became famous by his vivid account of his travels, Travels in the Interior District of Africa…in the Years 1795, 1796 and 1797 (1799). He perished at Boussa in a conflict with the natives.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Park, Mungo." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Park, Mungo." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-ParkMungo.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Park, Mungo." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-ParkMungo.html

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