Stanley Sir HM
Sir Henry Morton Stanley
Nickname/Alias: born: John Rowlands
Achievements: Made extensive explorations of Africa, most notably opening the Congo River and Lake Victoria regions.
Born: January 28, 1841; Denbigh, Wales, U.K.
Died: May 10, 1904; London, U.K. (Aged 63)
Field & Discipline: Literature; Exploration; Writer, Explorer
Language: English
Education: St. Asaph Union Workhouse School
Major Work:
“How I found Dr. Livingstone” (1872)
“My Kalulu, Prince, King and Slave” (1874)
“Coomasie and Magdala” (1874)
“Through the Dark Continent” (2 vol. 1878)
“Congo and the Founding of its Free State” (1885)
“In Darkest Africa” (2 vol. 1890)
“My Dark Companions and their Strange Stories” (1893)
“Slavery and the Slave Trade in Africa” (1893)
“My Early Travels and Adventures in America and Asia” (1895)
“Through South Africa” (1898)
Life & Times:
Sir Henry Morton Stanley was born into a poor Welsh family as John Rowlands, named for his father, who died several weeks after his birth. Without the means to take care of her son, his mother left him in the care of her father, Moses Parry, and went to seek employment in London.
Upon the sudden death of his grandfather in 1847, he was forced to live with a neighboring couple at Denbigh Castle. Later that year, when his uncles could no longer afford to pay his room-and-board, he was taken to the St. Asaph Union Workhouse.
After enduring 9 years at St. Asaph’s, John escaped and ended up at his Aunt Mary’s in the port city of Liverpool. He had found a place to stay, but he felt like an outsider and had few prospects for employment.
Fascinated with the great merchant ships crowded into the harbor John applied for, and got, a job on the American ship “Windmere”. Unfortunately his continued abuse and virtual slavery at the hands of the “Windmere”s crew was no better than at St Asaph’s, so he jumped ship at their first port-of-call, New Orleans.
He ran into some good luck in the person of Mr. Henry M. Stanley. Taken in by the cotton broker and goods merchant, Stanley set him up with a job and a place to stay. The Stanley’s had no children and in early 1860, after the death of Mrs. Stanley, John was adopted by the family and took his new father’s name.
After serving on both sides in the Civil War, Stanley went back to sea and joined the Federal Merchant Service traveling to New York, the West Indies, Spain and Italy. He then enlisted in the U.S. Navy and became ship’s writer on the U.S.S. Moses H. Stuyvesant. Stanley witnessed and described several naval battles, his writings being carried by papers worldwide.
In April of 1865 he left the Navy and became a freelance journalist. In 1868 he became a correspondent for the New York Herald and covered the British expedition in Abyssinia, the construction of the Suez Canal, and the Crete Insurrection.
On October 16th 1869, his employer [employed by] Bennett* of the Herald sent him to Africa search for explorer [found] Livingstone*, feared lost. With no word from Livingstone in almost 3 years, Stanley raised money for a rescue effort, and set off on March 21st 1871 in command of 187 men and 29 animals. Stanley found Livingstone at Ujiji, Lake Tanganyika on November 10th 1871 and said: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” On his arrival in England Stanley was met by much fanfare and his popularity culminated with a meeting with [knighted by] Queen Victoria* on September 10th 1872.
In 1874 Stanley learned of the death of David Livingstone and decided to return to Africa. This time he would be in command of 359 men and many animals loaded with supplies. Stanley managed to find the rivers at the source of the Nile as well as to circumnavigate Lake Victoria. Crossing the lake region of central Africa and heading still further west, the remainder of the expedition began to head down the Congo River with the goal of reaching the Atlantic Ocean. They arrived on August 7th 1877 in Boma after crossing the African continent.
Stanley’s articles to the Telegraph spoke of the enormous commercial possibilities in the Congo River region, and after unsuccessfully convincing the British of his observations, Stanley was met by representatives of [supported by] Leopold II* of Belgium. Plans were drawn up for Belgium to set up and administer the Congo Free State and Stanley was picked to lead the expedition to set up the first way stations along the Congo River. In 1879 he returned to the mouth of the great river with 224 men and 4 small steamers. In 1884 America and Europe officially recognized the Congo Free State, in large part shaped by Stanley’s personal determination and hard work.
In 1881 the Sudanese had revolted against their Egyptian rulers and Britain had been drawn into the conflict resulting in the massacre of Charles “Chinese” Gordon and his men at Khartoum. The surviving group of Anglo-Egyptians retreated south and ended up being led by the German born Emin Pasha near Lake Albert. In 1887 a military expedition was raised with Stanley serving as a guide. Finally in April 1888 most of the expedition reached Lake Albert. With the “relief-effort” now needing to be itself relieved, the decision was made for Stanley to lead the group to safety at the shores of the Indian Ocean.
In 1889 the enormous column of over 2,000 people began their journey east. Their route passed the Ruwenzori Mountains, better known as “The Mountains of the Moon.” On December 4th 1889 they reached the Indian Ocean opposite Zanzibar.
Back in Europe after meetings with Leopold II about expanding the Free State territory into the Great Forest, Henry M. Stanley returned to England on April 26. On July 12 of that same year he was married to Dorothy Tennant at Westminster Abbey and although he was ill, spent 1891 with her, traveling and lecturing in America.
Returning to England once again, Stanley reestablished his British citizenship and spent the next 3 years with a busy social regimen of talks, fundraisers, dinners and public relation events. In 1895 he was elected to Parliament as the M.P. of North Lambeth and within another year his son Denzil was born. Continuing to travel, Stanley went to South Africa to help open a major railroad and acquainted himself with the ongoing Boer situation there. Queen Victoria knighted him in 1899 but a year later he retired from Parliament.
Officially retired, Stanley and his wife purchased Furze Hill, an estate 30 miles from London where the explorer would spend the last years of his life.
Extra Connections: He was supported by [supported by] Burdett-Coutts*
Assessment: Stanley is best remembered for his rescue of Dr. Livingstone and his subsequent exploration of deepest central Africa, which opened up large portions of the continent to European influence.
Oneliner: H.M. Stanley, explorer, who found Dr Livingstone
Bibliography:
- Stanley, Henry M., ed. by Dorothy Stanley, The Autobiography of Sir Henry Morton Stanley: Making of a 19th Century Explorer, The Narrative Press, 2001, first published 1909.
- “Stanley’s Dispatches to the New York Herald 1871-1872, 1874-1877”, Henry M. Stanley, ed. by Norman R. Bennett, Boston University Press, 1970.
- “Stanley, Sir Henry Morton” Encarta Concise Encyclopedia article (encarta.msn.com).
Father: John Rowlands
Mother: Elisabeth Parry
Siblings: None
Spouse: Dorothy Tennant
Children: Denzil