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Mungo Park

File:Mungo_Park_portrait_bw.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Mungo Park

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Also known as Park, Mungo

Scottish naturalist and explorer of the African continent

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Mungo Park was a Scottish physician, explorer, and writer who lived from 1771 to 1806. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh and worked as a surgeon and physician writer. Park conducted his work in West Africa and wrote in the English language. His notable publications include *Travels and recent discoveries in the interior districts of Africa, in the year 1796 & '97* and *Viaggio nell'interno dell'Africa fatto negli anni 1795, 1796 e 1797*.

Park died in Bussa in 1806. His death was caused by drowning and classified as accidental. He was a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. His life and work have been described in sources such as the *Nordisk familjebok*, the *Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary*, *The Nuttall Encyclopædia*, and the *Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition*.

Synthesized by Vinony from 21 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Europeana Sparql. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
1771
Died
1806
Works
48

Top works

  • Travels and recent discoveries in the interior districts of Africa, in the year 1796 & '97
  • Viaggio nell'interno dell'Africa fatto negli anni 1795, 1796 e 1797
  • Travels in the interior districts of Africa performed under the direction and patronage of the African Association in the years 1795, 1796 and 1797
  • Scotland
  • Reise in das Innere von Afrika

via Open Library + Wikidata

Key facts

Born
10 September 1771 ( 1771-09-10 ) , Yarrow , Selkirkshire , Scotland
Died
1806 ( 1807 ) (aged 35), Bussa, Nigeria
Alma mater
University of Edinburgh
Known for
Exploration of West Africa
Fields
African explorer , Surgeon's mate

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Place of birth
Scotland
Place of death
Bussa
Occupation
traveler
Languages spoken
English language
Image
Mungo Park portrait.jpg
Work location
West Africa
Show 9 more facts
Commons category
Mungo Park
date of birth
1771-00-00
date of death
1806-01-01
Commons gallery
Mungo Park
manner of death
accidental death
Commons Creator page
Mungo Park
cause of death
drowning
writing language
English language
different from
Mungo Park
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

28 objects attributed to Mungo Park, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

Voyages et découvertes dans l’intérieur de l’Afrique [Texto impreso]

Voyages et découvertes dans l’intérieur de l’Afrique [Texto impreso]

Mungo Park 's Travel in Africa

Mungo Park 's Travel in Africa

Travels inside Africa: undertaken at the African Society in 1795 to 1797; with 4 copper and 1 card

Travels inside Africa: undertaken at the African Society in 1795 to 1797; with 4 copper and 1 card

Traveling in the interior of Africa: at the event of the African society in the years 1795 to 1797; with copper

Traveling in the interior of Africa: at the event of the African society in the years 1795 to 1797; with copper

Travels in the interior districts of Africa

Travels in the interior districts of Africa

Voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique, fait en 1795, 1796 et 1797

Voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique, fait en 1795, 1796 et 1797

Útazása Afrika' belsö tartomanyaiban, Burbon', Frantzia, 's Javan' szigeteiröl és Dahom-Országról szólló némelly tudósitásokkal együtt

Útazása Afrika' belsö tartomanyaiban, Burbon', Frantzia, 's Javan' szigeteiröl és Dahom-Országról szólló némelly tudósitásokkal együtt

Viaggio Nell'Interno Dell'Africa Fatto Negli Anni 1795, 1796 E 1797 Da Mungo-Park Spedito Dalla Societa D'Africa Stabilita In Londra ; Tradotto Da Vincenzio Ferrario ; Con Tavole In Rame Colorate (Tomo I.)

Viaggio Nell'Interno Dell'Africa Fatto Negli Anni 1795, 1796 E 1797 Da Mungo-Park Spedito Dalla Societa D'Africa Stabilita In Londra ; Tradotto Da Vincenzio Ferrario ; Con Tavole In Rame Colorate (Tomo I.)

Viaggio Nell'Interno Dell'Africa Fatto Negli Anni 1795, 1796 E 1797 Da Mungo-Park Spedito Dalla Societa D'Africa Stabilita In Londra ; Tradotto Da Vincenzio Ferrario ; Con Tavole In Rame Colorate (Tomo II.)

Viaggio Nell'Interno Dell'Africa Fatto Negli Anni 1795, 1796 E 1797 Da Mungo-Park Spedito Dalla Societa D'Africa Stabilita In Londra ; Tradotto Da Vincenzio Ferrario ; Con Tavole In Rame Colorate (Tomo II.)

Travels in the interior districts of Africa : performed in the years 1795, 1796, and 1797. With an appendix containing geographical illustrations of Africa by Major Rennell

Travels in the interior districts of Africa : performed in the years 1795, 1796, and 1797. With an appendix containing geographical illustrations of Africa by Major Rennell

Voyage dans l'interieur de l'Afrique, fait en 1795, 1796 et 1797; avec des eclaircissemens sur la geographie de l'interieur de l'Afrique par (Jacques) Rennell (Vol.1)

Voyage dans l'interieur de l'Afrique, fait en 1795, 1796 et 1797; avec des eclaircissemens sur la geographie de l'interieur de l'Afrique par (Jacques) Rennell (Vol.1)

Voyage dans l'interieur de l'Afrique, fait en 1795, 1796 et 1797; avec des eclaircissemens sur la geographie de l'interieur de l'Afrique par (Jacques) Rennell (Vol.2)

Voyage dans l'interieur de l'Afrique, fait en 1795, 1796 et 1797; avec des eclaircissemens sur la geographie de l'interieur de l'Afrique par (Jacques) Rennell (Vol.2)

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~21 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Mungo Park commemorative medal Mungo Park (10 September 1771 – 1806) was a Scottish explorer of West Africa. After an exploration of the upper Niger River around 1796, he wrote a popular and influential travel book titled Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa in which he theorized the Niger and Congo merged to become the same river, though it was later proven that they are different rivers. He was killed during a second expedition, having successfully travelled about two-thirds of the way down the Niger.

If the African Association was the "beginning of the age of African exploration" by Europeans, then Mungo Park was its first successful explorer; he set a standard for all who followed. Park was the first Westerner to have recorded travels in the central portion of the Niger, and through his popular book introduced the European public to a vast unexplored continent which influenced future European explorers and colonial ambitions in Africa.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mungo Park” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (7)