March 19

David Livingstone was born in 1813 in Blantyre, Scotland, and trained as a medical missionary before traveling to southern Africa in 1841. He worked among the Tswana people while undertaking exploratory journeys into the continent's interior. Livingstone became the first European to witness Victoria Falls in 1855 and charted vast regions of Central Africa, including the Zambezi River. His vivid accounts of the African slave trade helped galvanize the British anti-slavery movement. Although he never found the Nile's source, his expeditions opened new routes for subsequent explorers. Livingstone died in 1873 while on an expedition in present-day Zambia; his body was carried to the coast and returned to Britain for burial. His blend of missionary zeal and scientific curiosity made him a lasting symbol of Victorian exploration.

Richard Francis Burton was born in 1821 and became one of the most celebrated explorers of the 19th century. He served as a British Army officer and later as a diplomat, traveling extensively across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Burton gained fame for his secret pilgrimage to Mecca in 1853 disguised as a Muslim. He was also a prolific scholar and translator, producing the first English translation of The Arabian Nights from the original Arabic. His works on geography, linguistics, and anthropology influenced Western views of the Islamic world. Burton's adventurous spirit and scholarly output continue to inspire explorers and academics alike.