Park, Mungo

Park, Mungo
born Sept. 10, 1771, Fowlshiels, Selkirk, Scot.
died с January 1806, near Bussa on the Niger River

Scottish explorer of the Niger River.

A trained surgeon, Park had traveled to the East Indies before being chosen by the African Association to head an expedition to find the source of the Niger River (1795–97). He lost most of his crew and supplies, was imprisoned and tortured for four months by hostile Arabs, and suffered severe illness, reaching Ségou (now in Mali) but not the river's source. His Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa (1797) became a great popular success. On a second expedition (1805–06) he reached Bamako, but he was killed on the return trip.

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▪ Scottish explorer
born Sept. 10, 1771, Fowlshiels, Selkirk, Scot.
died , c. January 1806, near Bussa on the Niger River [now in Nigeria]
 Scottish explorer of the Niger.

      Educated as a surgeon at the University of Edinburgh, Park was appointed a medical officer in 1792 on a vessel engaged in the East Indies trade. His subsequent studies of the plant and animal life of Sumatra won for him the backing of the African Association to explore the true course of the Niger River. Beginning his exploration at the mouth of the Gambia River on June 21, 1795, Park ascended that river for 200 miles to Pisania (now Karantaba, The Gambia), a British trading station. Hampered by fever and formidable hardships, he crossed the unknown territory of the upper Sénégal River basin. He was imprisoned by an Arab chief for four months but escaped on July 1, 1796, to continue his journey with little more than a horse and a compass. On July 20 he reached Ségou (now in Mali) on the Niger, which he followed downstream for 80 miles (130 km) to Silla. Finally forced to turn back for lack of supplies, Park, traveling on foot, took a more southerly route on his return. After traversing mountainous country, he arrived at Kamalia in Mandingo country, where he lay dangerously ill with fever for seven months. With the assistance of a slave trader, he reached Pisania on June 10, 1797. He returned to Britain to write an account of his adventures, Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa (1797), which became a popular success and made him famous.

      Two years later Park married and practiced medicine in Peebles in Scotland until asked by the government to head a second expedition to the Niger. Commissioned a captain, he led a party of 40 Europeans to Pisania and, on Aug. 19, 1805, with only 11 survivors, reached Bamako (now in Mali) on the Niger. Resuming the journey by canoe, he and his companions reached Ségou, where the local ruler gave him permission to continue his voyage down the unexplored river. Hoping to reach the coast at the end of January 1806, he set sail with eight companions from Sansanding, a little below Ségou, on Nov. 19, 1805. Reports that the expedition had met with disaster soon reached the settlements on the Gambia. In 1812 it was learned that when the explorers reached the rapids at Bussa, about 1,000 miles below Sansanding, they were attacked by local inhabitants, and Park was drowned.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Park,Mungo — Park (pärk), Mungo. 1771 1806. Scottish explorer in Africa known for his expeditions on the Niger River (1795 1796 and 1805). * * * …   Universalium

  • Park, Mungo — (10 sep. 1771, Fowlshiels, Selkirk, Escocia– ene. 1806, cerca de Busa, en el río Níger). Explorador escocés del río Níger. Experto cirujano, había viajado a las Indias Orientales antes de ser escogido por la Asociación Africana para encabezar una …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • PARK, MUNGO —    African traveller, born at Foulshiels, near Selkirk; was apprenticed to a surgeon, and studied medicine at Edinburgh; 1791 93 he spent in a voyage to Sumatra, and in 1795 went for the first time to Africa under the auspices of the African… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Park, Mungo — (1771 1806)    Traveller, b. near Selkirk, studied medicine at Edin. As a surgeon in the mercantile marine he visited Sumatra, and on his return attracted the attention of various scientific men by his botanical and zoological investigations. In… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Mungo Park — (* 11. September 1771 in Foulshiels bei Selkirk, Schottland; † Januar/Februar 1806 bei Bussa, Nigeria) war ein britischer Afrikareisender. Seine beiden Reisen (1795–1797 und 1805–1806) führten ihn über den Fluss Gambia an den Lauf …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mungo National Park — IUCN Category II (National Park) …   Wikipedia

  • Mungo Park — Nacimiento 11 de septiembre de 1771 Selkirkshire Fal …   Wikipedia Español

  • Mungo Park — Mungo Park, Afrikareisender, s. Park, Mungo …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Mungo Park — Mungo Park, s. Park (Mungo) …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Mungo Park —   [ mʌȖgəʊ pɑːk], Afrikaforscher, Park, Mungo.   …   Universal-Lexikon

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