# Joseph Thomson (explorer) > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joseph_Thomson_(explorer) > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Joseph_Thomson_(explorer).md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Thomson_(explorer) > Source revision: 1309449374 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British geologist and explorer Joseph Thomson Born (1858-02-14)14 February 1858 Penpont, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Died 2 August 1895(1895-08-02) (aged 37) London, England Occupations Geologist and explorer **Joseph Thomson** (14 February 1858 – 2 August 1895) was a British geologist and explorer who played an important part in the [Scramble for Africa](/source/Scramble_for_Africa). [Thomson's gazelle](/source/Thomson's_gazelle) and [Thomson's Falls](/source/Thomson's_Falls), [Nyahururu](/source/Nyahururu), 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.[1] His motto is often quoted to be "He who goes gently, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far." ## Early life Born in [Penpont](/source/Penpont), Dumfriesshire, he was apprenticed into his father's stone-[masonry](/source/Masonry) and [quarrying](/source/Quarry) business. He developed a keen amateur interest in geology and [botany](/source/Botany), which eventually led to his formal education at the [University of Edinburgh](/source/University_of_Edinburgh), studying under [Archibald Geikie](/source/Archibald_Geikie) and [Thomas Henry Huxley](/source/Thomas_Henry_Huxley). ## Royal Geographical Society On graduating in 1878, he was appointed geologist and [naturalist](/source/Natural_history) to [Alexander Keith Johnston](/source/Alexander_Keith_Johnston_(1844-1879))'s [Royal Geographical Society](/source/Royal_Geographical_Society) expedition to establish a route from [Dar es Salaam](/source/Dar_es_Salaam) to [Lake Nyasa](/source/Lake_Nyasa) and [Lake Tanganyika](/source/Lake_Tanganyika). Johnston died from malaria and [dysentery](/source/Dysentery) during the trip and Thomson was left to take the leadership role for the expedition. Thomson successfully led the expedition over 5,000 kilometres (3,000 mi) in 14 months, collecting many specimens and recording many observations. Part of his crew included [James Chuma](/source/Chuma_and_Susi), who also worked closely with and assisted the Scottish explorer [David Livingstone](/source/David_Livingstone). 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](/source/Lake_Victoria). [British Empire](/source/British_Empire) traders wanted a route that would avoid potentially hostile [Maasai](/source/Maasai_people) and [German traders](/source/Germany) who were competing in the area. The expedition set out a few months behind the rival German expedition of [Gustav A. Fischer](/source/Gustav_A._Fischer). Thomson's leadership was again a success, demonstrating the feasibility of the route and making many important biological, geological, and [ethnographic](/source/Ethnography) observations, though Thomson's attempt to climb [Mount Kilimanjaro](/source/Mount_Kilimanjaro) in a day failed. However, on the return journey, Thomson was gored by a [buffalo](/source/African_Buffalo) and subsequently suffered from [malaria](/source/Malaria) and [dysentery](/source/Dysentery). He is credited with confirming Krapf's 1849 report of snow on [Mt Kenya](/source/Mt_Kenya).[2] He was prevented from making an attempt on the mountain by hostile Maasai.[3] Nevertheless, he is commemorated on that mountain by Point Thomson (4,955 m) and Thomson's Flake.[4] He recovered in time to give an account of his experiences at a meeting in November 1884 of the [Royal Geographical Society](/source/Royal_Geographical_Society), which awarded him their [Founder's Medal](/source/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](/source/Henry_Rider_Haggard). His imagination fired by Thomson's expedition, Haggard promptly wrote a book of his own, *[King Solomon's Mines](/source/King_Solomon's_Mines)*. Haggard also wrote other well received novels e.g. *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 *She*, he felt it did not represent the lands it was based on, and wrote a novel based on his experiences in the East African region, for example described in his book *Through Masai Land*. He called this novel *Ulu: an African Romance*. It was successful enough to demand a sequel which he wrote with Miss E. Harrison Smith as *Ulu: an African Romance volume II*. ## Hiatus In 1885, Thomson was employed by the [National African Company](/source/National_African_Company) to forestall and hinder German influence in the vicinity of the [Niger River](/source/Niger_River), 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](/source/Atlas_Mountains) of [Morocco](/source/Morocco) 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](/source/J._M._Barrie). ## British South Africa Company In 1890, [Cecil Rhodes](/source/Cecil_Rhodes) employed Thomson to explore north of the [Zambezi](/source/Zambezi), conclude [treaties](/source/Treaty) and gain [mining concessions](/source/Mineral_rights) from tribal chiefs on behalf of his [British South Africa Company](/source/British_South_Africa_Company), which had been chartered by the [British government](/source/British_Empire) to claim the territory known as [Zambezia](/source/Rhodesia_(disambiguation)) (later Rhodesia, modern day [Zimbabwe](/source/Zimbabwe) and [Zambia](/source/Zambia)) as far north as the [African Great Lakes](/source/African_Great_Lakes). Though he made a sequence of important treaties on the trip, a [smallpox](/source/Smallpox) epidemic in the intervening country stopped him from achieving the ultimate goal, which was to meet [Alfred Sharpe](/source/Alfred_Sharpe) at the court of [Msiri](/source/Msiri), King of [Katanga](/source/Yeke_Kingdom), 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](/source/Stairs_Expedition) led by [Captain William Stairs](/source/William_Grant_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](/source/Leopold_II_of_Belgium). Unknown to the Stairs Expedition, by this time Thomson had been instructed by the British government not to go.[5] ## Death Thomson's health had deteriorated because of [cystitis](/source/Cystitis), [schistosomiasis](/source/Schistosomiasis) and [pyelonephritis](/source/Pyelonephritis). In 1892, he contracted [pneumonia](/source/Pneumonia) 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: - Thompson Falls, Nyahururu, Kenya - African [gazelle](/source/Gazelle), *Eudorcas thomsonii*, known as [Thomson's gazelle](/source/Thomson's_gazelle)[6] - Freshwater snail *[Limnotrochus thomsoni](/source/Limnotrochus_thomsoni)* E. A. Smith, 1880[7] - Land snail *Achatina thomsoni* E. A. Smith, 1880[7] is a synonym of *[Achatina spekei](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Achatina_spekei&action=edit&redlink=1)* Dohrn[8] - Freshwater bivalve *Unio thomsoni* E. A. Smith, 1880[7] is a synonym of *[Grandideriera burtoni](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grandideriera_burtoni&action=edit&redlink=1)* (Woodward, 1859)[8] ## 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) - "‘Niger and Central Sudan Sketches’ (‘Scottish Geographic. Magazine,’ October 1886, vol. ii.). ### Novel - *Ulu: an African Romance* (co-authored with Miss Harris-Smith) (1888) ## See also - [Nena people](/source/Nena_people) - [Luoland](/source/Luoland) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Through Maasailand: In the Footsteps of Africa's Greatest Explorer"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090324004949/http://www.throughmaasailand.com/joseph_thomson.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.throughmaasailand.com/joseph_thomson.html) on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** John Temple and Allan Walker *Kirinyaga. A Mount Kenya Anthology* (Nairobi : The Mountain Club of Kenya, c. 1975), p. 3. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Charles Millar, *Lunatic Express*, (Toronto ; MacMillan, 1971) p. 109 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Iain Allan (ed.) *The Mountain Club of Kenya Guide to Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro*, (Nairobi : The Mountain Club of Kenya, 1998) p. 148 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Moloney, Joseph Augustus (1893). *With Captain Stairs to Katanga*. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company ([ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0955393655](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0955393655)). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Thomson's Gazelle"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Thomson%27s%20Gazelle). *[Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary](/source/Merriam-Webster)*. Merriam-Webster. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1032680871](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1032680871). Retrieved 24 April 2016. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Smith_1880_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Smith_1880_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Smith_1880_7-2) [Smith E. A.](/source/Edgar_Albert_Smith) (1880). "Diagnoses of new shells from Lake Tanganyika and East Africa". *[Annals and Magazine of Natural History](/source/Annals_and_Magazine_of_Natural_History)* (5)**6**: [425](https://archive.org/stream/annalsmagazineof561880lond#page/424/mode/2up)-430. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Verdcourt_1983_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Verdcourt_1983_8-1) Verdcourt B. (1983). ["Collectors in East Africa – 6. Joseph Thomson 1858–1895"](http://www.conchsoc.org/collectors_east_africa/Thomson-J.php). *[The Conchologists' Newsletter](/source/The_Conchologists'_Newsletter)* **84**: 67–70. ## Further reading ### Works by Thomson - *To the Central African Lakes and Back* (2 vols., 1881) - *Through Masai Land* (1885) - [*Through Masai Land – A Journey of Exploration Among the Snowclad Volcanic Mountains and Strange Tribes of Eastern Equatorial Africa*](https://web.archive.org/web/20050425150608/http://www.geocities.com/olmorijo/thomson_preface.htm) at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (archived 25 April 2005) (New and revised edition, 1887) - *Travels in the Atlas and Southern Morocco* (1889) - *Mungo Park and the Niger* (1890) ### Works about Thomson - Rotberg, R.I. (1971) *Joseph Thomson and the exploration of Africa* - Thomson, J.B. (1896) *Joseph Thomson: African explorer* ## External links [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has the text of a [1911 *Encyclopædia Britannica*](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition) article about [Joseph Thomson](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Thomson,_Joseph). - Media related to [Joseph Thomson (explorer)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Joseph_Thomson_(explorer)) at Wikimedia Commons - [Hugh Alexander Webster](/source/Hugh_Alexander_Webster) (1898). ["Thomson, Joseph"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Thomson,_Joseph). In [Lee, Sidney](/source/Sidney_Lee) (ed.). *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*. Vol. 56. London: [Smith, Elder & Co](/source/Smith%2C_Elder_%26_Co). - [Penpont's Joseph Thomson Project](http://www.penpontheritage.co.uk) - [Google translation of kenyalogy.com article](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.kenyalogy.com/esp/info/histo8.html&sa=X&oi=translate) - [An account of Thomson and Rider Haggard](https://web.archive.org/web/20120310184550/http://www.nicholasbest.co.uk/Happy_Valley.pdf) by author [Nicholas Best](/source/Nicholas_Best) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Italy Netherlands Poland Israel Belgium Academics International Plant Names Index Artists Musée d'Orsay People Trove Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Open Library SNAC 2 Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joseph Thomson (explorer)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Thomson_(explorer)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Thomson_(explorer)?action=history)). 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