Joseph Thomson (14 February 1858 – 2 August 1895) was a British geologist and explorer who played an important part in the Scramble for Africa.

Thomson's gazelle Thomson's gazelle (''Eudorcas thomsonii'') is one of the best known species of gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and is sometimes referred to as a "tommie". It is considered by some to be a subspecies of the red-fronted gazell ...

and Thomson's Falls,

Nyahururu Nyahururu (formerly known as Thomson's Falls) is a town in Kenya, lying north east of Nakuru. The town derives its name from the Maasai word e-naiwurruwurr, meaning waterfall and/or windy or place of storms. It is located in Laikipia County. Desp ...

are named after him. Excelling as an explorer rather than an exact scientist, he avoided confrontations among his porters or with indigenous peoples, neither killing any native nor losing any of his men to violence. His motto is often quoted to be ''"He who goes gently, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far."''

Early life

Born in

Penpont Penpont is a village about west of Thornhill in Dumfriesshire, in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland. It is near the confluence of the Shinnel Water and Scaur Water rivers in the foothills of the Southern Uplands. It has a populati ...

, Dumfriesshire, he was apprenticed into his father's stone-

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

and

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

ing business. He developed a keen amateur interest in geology and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, which eventually led to his formal education at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, studying under

Archibald Geikie Sir Archibald Geikie (28 December 183510 November 1924) was a Scottish geologist and writer. Early life Geikie was born in Edinburgh in 1835, the eldest son of Isabella Thom and her husband James Stuart Geikie, a musician and music critic. T ...

and

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...

Royal Geographical Society

On graduating in 1878, he was appointed geologist and naturalist to Alexander Keith Johnston's Royal Geographical Society expedition to establish a route from Dar es Salaam to

Lake Nyasa Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

and Lake Tanganyika. Johnston died during the trip and Thomson was left to take the leadership role for the expedition. Thomson successfully led the expedition over in 14 months, collecting many specimens and recording many observations. Part of his crew included James Chuma, who also worked closely and assisted the Scottish explorer

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

. In 1883, he embarked on another Royal Geographical Society expedition, this time to explore a route from the eastern coast of Africa to the northern shores of Lake Victoria.

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

traders wanted a route that would avoid potentially hostile Maasai and German traders who were competing in the area. The expedition set out a few months behind the rival German expedition of Gustav A. Fischer. Thomson's leadership was again a success, demonstrating the feasibility of the route and making many important biological, geological, and

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

observations, though Thomson's attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in a day failed. However, on the return journey, Thomson was gored by a buffalo and subsequently suffered from

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. Thomson is credited with confirming Krapf's 1849 report of snow on Mt Kenya. He was prevented from making an attempt on the mountain by hostile Maasai. Nevertheless, he is commemorated on that mountain by Point Thomson (4,955m) and Thomson's Flake. He recovered in time to give an account of his experiences at a meeting in November 1884 of the Royal Geographical Society, which awarded him their Founder's Medal the following year. His book ''Through Masai Land'' followed in January 1885 and was a best seller. One of the first to read it was the young

Henry Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

. His imagination fired by Thomson's expedition, Haggard promptly wrote a book of his own, ''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

''. Haggard also wrote other well received novels eg "She", one of a series succeeding King Solomon's Mines. The novel expands on further adventures of the main characters in King Solomon's Mines. When Thompson read that book ("She"), he felt it didn't represent the lands where it was based on – Africa– and put into writing a new novel based on his experiences in the East African region, for example denoted by his book "Through Masailand". He called this novel "Ulu: an African Romance". It was important enough to demand a sequel which he wrote with Ms E. Harrison Smith as "Ulu: an African Romance volume II".

Hiatus

In 1885, Thomson was employed by the National African Company to forestall and hinder German influence in the vicinity of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

, but he returned the following year to the UK to lecture, disillusioned that no further opportunities existed for large-scale exploration in the continent. He became discontented with his life in the UK and struggled to identify new opportunities for exploration. A modest expedition to the Atlas Mountains of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

was marred by trouble with porters and local political difficulties. He spent a month in 1889 travelling in central Europe with budding author

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

British South Africa Company

In 1890, Cecil Rhodes employed Thomson to explore north of the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

, conclude

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

and gain mining concessions from tribal chiefs on behalf of his British South Africa Company, which had been chartered by the British government to claim the territory known as Zambezia (later Rhodesia, modern day

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

) as far north as the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in th ...

. Though he made a sequence of important treaties on the trip, a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemic in the intervening country stopped him from achieving the ultimate goal, which was to meet

Alfred Sharpe Sir Alfred Sharpe (19 May 1853 – 10 December 1935) was Commissioner and Consul-General for the British Central Africa Protectorate and first Governor of Nyasaland. He trained as a solicitor but was in turn a planter and a professional hun ...

at the court of Msiri, King of Katanga, and to assist Sharpe in incorporating the mineral-rich country into Zambezia by treaty. Thomson's role was to have brought supplies of cloth, gunpowder, and other gifts with which to impress Msiri. Without these, Sharpe was rebuffed, and a year later, the Stairs Expedition led by Captain William Stairs, believing itself to be in a race with another attempt by Thomson to reach Katanga, killed Msiri and took Katanga for King

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

. Unknown to the Stairs Expedition, by this time Thomson had been instructed by the British government not to go.

Death

Thomson's health had deteriorated because of

cystitis A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as a kidney ...

, schistosomiasis, and

pyelonephritis Pyelonephritis is inflammation of the kidney, typically due to a bacterial infection. Symptoms most often include fever and flank tenderness. Other symptoms may include nausea, burning with urination, and frequent urination. Complications may ...

. In 1892, he contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and, seeking the right climate in which to recuperate, spent time in England, South Africa, Italy, and France. He died in London in 1895, at the age of 37.

Taxa named in honour

Taxa named in honour of Joseph Thomson include: * African

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

, ''Eudorcas thomsonii'', known as

* Freshwater snail '' Limnotrochus thomsoni'' E. A. Smith, 1880 Smith E. A. (1880). "Diagnoses of new shells from Lake Tanganyika and East Africa". ''

Annals and Magazine of Natural History The ''Journal of Natural History'' is a scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis focusing on entomology and zoology. The journal was established in 1841 under the name ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' (''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'') an ...

'' (5)6
425
430. * Land snail ''Achatina thomsoni'' E. A. Smith, 1880 is a synonym of '' Achatina spekei'' DohrnVerdcourt B. (1983)
"Collectors in East Africa – 6. Joseph Thomson 1858–1895"
'' The Conchologists' Newsletter'' 84: 67–70. * Freshwater bivalve ''Unio thomsoni'' E. A. Smith, 1880 is a synonym of '' Grandideriera burtoni'' (Woodward, 1859)

Bibliography

Non-Fiction

*To the Central African Lakes and Back - the East Central African Expedition 1878-80 (1881) *Through Masai Land - a Journey of Exploration among the Snowclad Volcanic Mountains & Strange Tribes of Eastern Equatorial Africa - the Expedition to Mount Kenia & Lake Victoria Nyanza, 1883-84 (1885, Revised 1887) *The Travels in the Atlas & Southern Morocco (1889) *Mungo Park & the Niger (1890)

Novel

*Ulu: an African Romance (co-authored with Miss Harris-Smith) (1888)

References

External links

* *
Penpont's Joseph Thomson Project
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120310184550/http://www.nicholasbest.co.uk/Happy_Valley.pdf An account of Thomson and Rider Haggardby author Nicholas Best {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Joseph 1858 births 1895 deaths People from Dumfries and Galloway Scottish explorers Scottish geologists Scottish naturalists Explorers of Africa Alumni of the University of Edinburgh