Mungo Park was born on 11th September 1771 in Selkirk, Scotland and he died in January 1806 (aged 35 years) in Bussa, Nigeria. The first westerner to travel to find the source of the Niger River, Mungo wrote about this expedition which became very popular. On the journey he was held prisoner by a Moorish chief for four months, escaping with only a horse and traced the river following it for 300 miles. His book encouraged many to follow him on this path as he had introduced a vast unknown continent.
Do you know: Mungo Park was a trained surgeon who worked aboard an East India Company’s ship and as a physician when he settled in Peebles.
