Speke/Grant expedition to Lake Victoria
1860-63 are the inclusive years for the John Hanning Speke/James Grant expedition to Lake Victoria. Speke led this follow-up to his expedition to Lake Tanganyika; this expedition was meant to confirm his conviction that the Nile originated in Lake Victoria. James Grant, a fellow Indian Army officer, accompanied him. Upon his return, Speke was initially lauded as the man who had finally solved the mystery of the Nile, but gaps and inconsistencies in his evidence open the door to doubters who insisted that the prize remained unclaimed. Image: Engraving of John Hanning Speke from H. B. Scammel, Stanley and the White Heroes in Africa (1890). This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired. Note that the exact month of the beginning and end of this expedition is difficult to determine.
