Speke, John Hanning
Speke, John Hanning (1827–64). British soldier and explorer. Speke became famous as the result of two exploratory journeys in eastern Africa. In the course of the first, led by another Briton, Richard Burton, which reached Lake Tanganyika in 1858, Speke conceived the idea that Lake Victoria was the source of the White Nile. Burton and others rejected the claim and Speke led another expedition (1860–3) which confirmed his earlier opinion, but because he was unable to circumnavigate Lake Victoria or to follow the Nile along the whole of its course to the sea, his claim was again challenged. Later explorers proved him to have been right. Speke died in a shooting accident.
Kenneth Ingham
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
Speke, John Hanning
