Stanley finds Livingstone

On 2 July 1872, Henry Morton Stanley finds Dr. David Livingstone in Africa. Image: Thomas Annan, Photograph of Stanley Livingstone. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

On 2 July 1872, the New York Herald reported news of the meeting between Henry Morton Stanley and Dr. David Livingstone in Africa. The Scottish missionary had been out of contact for nearly three years when Stanley traveled to Africa in search of him. The meeting took place at Ujiji in either October or November 1871 (the precise date is unknown). The meeting was one of the most sensational news stories of the nineteenth century. Stanley’s greeting “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” is still a well known phrase. The meeting turned public attention to the African slave trade and was a pivotal moment in the relationship among the United States, Europe, and Africa.

Articles

Matthew Rubery, "On Henry Morton Stanley's Search for Dr. Livingstone, 1871-72"

Related Articles

Dane Kennedy, "The Search for the Nile"