Burton/Speke expedition to Tanganyika
1857-59 were the inclusive years of the Richard Burton/John Hanning Speke expedition to Lake Tanganyika. Richard Burton, accompanied by John Hanning Speke, commanded this first British expedition into the lake region of East Africa. Both men were Indian Army officers. During their return from Lake Tanganyika, Speke made an independent journey north to the shores of Lake Victoria and became convinced that it was the source of the White Nile. The two men fell out over the issue, which set off an expanding geographical controversy. Image: Photograph of Richard Burton (author unknown). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Note that the exact month of the beginning and end of this expedition is difficult to determine.