Major Alexander Gordon Laing (27 December 179426 September 1826) was a Scottish

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and the first European to reach

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label= Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrat ...

, arriving there via the north-to-south route in August 1826. He was killed shortly after he departed Timbuktu, some five weeks later.

Early life

Laing was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in late 1794. He was educated by his father, William Laing, who was a private teacher of classics, and 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 ...

. In 1811, he went to

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...

as clerk to his maternal uncle Colonel Gabriel Gordon.

Military service

Through General Sir George Beckwith, the governor of Barbados, he obtained an ensigncy in the York Light Infantry Volunteers in 1813. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

without purchase in 1815 and transferred to the

2nd West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

after his former regiment was disbanded in 1817. In 1822 he transferred into the

Royal African Colonial Corps Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In that year, while with his regiment at

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, he was sent by the governor

Sir Charles MacCarthy Sir Charles MacCarthy, KCMG (born Charles Guérault; 15 February 1764 – 21 January 1824) was an Irish soldier of French and Irish descent, who later was appointed as British military governor to territories in West Africa, including Sierra ...

, to the Mandingo country, with the double object of opening up commerce and endeavouring to abolish the slave trade in that region. Later that year, Laing visited Falaba, the capital of the Solimana country, and ascertained the source of the Rokel. He endeavoured to reach the source of the

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages In 1824 he was granted the local rank of major in Africa only. He took an active part in the Ashanti War of 1823-24, and was sent home with the despatches containing the news of the death in action of

. While in England in 1824, Laing prepared a narrative of his journeys, which was published in 1825 and entitled ''Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima Countries, in Western Africa''.

Trip to Timbuktu

Laing believed he had found the source of the Niger and proposed to travel along the river to its delta. Joseph Banks, president of the African Association supported his project, hoping that the expedition would reveal the location of Timbuktu. Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst, then secretary for the colonies, instructed Captain Laing to undertake a journey, via

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

and Timbuktu, to further elucidate the hydrography of the Niger basin. Laing left England in February 1825, and at Tripoli on 14 July he married Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul. Two days later, leaving his bride behind, he started to cross the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, accompanied by a sheikh who was subsequently accused of planning his murder.

Ghadames Ghadames or Ghadamis ( Berber: ''ʕadémis''; ar, غدامس, Libyan vernacular: ''ɣdāməs'', Latin: ''Cidamus, Cydamus'', it, Gadames) is an oasis Berber town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya. The ...

was reached, by an indirect route, in October 1825, and in December Laing reached

In Salah In Salah or officially Aïn Salah ( ar, عين صالح) is the oasis town in central Algeria that is the capital of the In Salah Province and In Salah District. It was once an important trade link of the trans-Saharan caravan route. As of the ...

in the

Tuat Tuat, or Touat, is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara. Geography Tuat lies to the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, to t ...

territory, where he was well received by one particular group of

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...

. On 10 January 1826, he left Tuat and made for Timbuktu across the desert of Tanezrouft. Letters written in May and July told of his suffering from fever and the plundering of his caravan by another group of Tuareg. Laing describes being wounded in 24 places in the fighting. Together with another survivor, he managed to reach Sidi Al Muktar, penniless and having lost his right hand. He joined another caravan and reached Timbuktu, thus becoming the first European to cross the Sahara from north to south. His letter dated from Timbuktu on 21 September announced his arrival in that city on the preceding 18 August, and the insecurity of his position owing to the hostility of the Fula chieftain Bello, then ruling the city. He added that he intended leaving Timbuktu in three days time. No further news was received from the explorer. From information pieced together later, it was ascertained that he left Timbuktu on the day he had planned. He may have been strangled by Tuareg raiderstwo men pulling on each end of a turban wrapped around Laing's neckon or about the night of 26 September 1826.

Aftermath

Laing's papers were never recovered, and his father-in-law,

Hanmer Warrington Hanmer George Warrington (c. 1776 – 1847) was born in Acton, Nantwich, Cheshire, England, served in the British Army, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel and subsequently became British Consul General at Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli on the Barba ...

, accused the French (who also wanted to reach Timbuktu) of interference and having procured Laing's journal; however, there has never been any evidence for this.

René Caillié Auguste René Caillié (; 19 November 1799 – 17 May 1838) was a French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu. Caillié had been preceded at Timbuktu by a British officer, Major Gordon Laing, who was murdere ...

reached Timbuktu two years after Laing and by returning alive was able to claim the 9,000-franc prize offered by the Société de Géographie for the feat. Both men were awarded the Gold Medal of the Society for 1830. In 1903, the French government placed a tablet bearing Laing's name and the date of his visit on the house occupied by him during his 38-day stay in Timbuktu. This house, located in the Djingareiber district, inside the old town, was declared a National Heritage by decree of 18 December 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Alexander Gord 1794 births 1826 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh British colonial army officers West India Regiment officers Scottish explorers British people murdered abroad Explorers of Africa Male murder victims Murdered explorers History of the Sahara Tuareg Alumni of the University of Edinburgh