Charles Tilstone Beke

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Charles Tilstone Beke (born October 10, 1800 in London , † July 31, 1874 London) was a British explorer of Africa .

Life

After an apprenticeship as a businessman, Beke first studied law . But he soon finished his studies to turn to historical , ethnographic and philological studies. During this time, Beke wrote his first scientific works such as Origines Biblicae (1834), which, however, were sharply criticized across Europe due to Beke's strict faithfulness to the Bible.

In 1837 he finally went on his first research trip. In Palestine he examined the sink at the Dead Sea .

From 1840 to 1843 Beke finally traveled to Abyssinia ; this expedition was to bring him lasting fame: He mapped 181,300 km² of Ethiopia and explored previously unknown areas in the south of the country. Beke was able to determine the approximate course of the Blue Nile and he collected vocabulary from 14 different languages ​​and dialects. Beke's most important work, Abyssinia , appeared on this expedition . A Statement of Facts (1846).

Beke's further work is mainly characterized by the search for the Nile sources , for example his books Essay on the Nile and its tributaries (1847) and The Sources of the Nile (1860) dealt with the river.

In 1865 a mission to free British prisoners took him back to Abyssinia, but this failed. Beke processed his impressions in The British Captives in Abyssinia (1865).

One last trip finally took Beke to Egypt , the Bay of Aqaba and northwestern Arabia . About this last research trip he wrote Discoveries of Sinai in Arabia and of Midian (1874), which was published posthumously by his widow.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Beke, Charles Tilstone
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British explorer of Africa
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1800
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH July 31, 1874
Place of death London