Henry Hamilton Johnston

Henry Hamilton Johnston

Memorial

Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston , GCMG , KCB (also Sir Harry Johnston ; born June 12, 1858 in London , †  July 31, 1927 in Worksop , Nottinghamshire ) was an English explorer of Africa .

Life

Johnston studied zoology and foreign languages. He later began to study drawing, during which he spent two years in France, and in 1876 went to Portugal and Spain out of wanderlust .

In 1882 he joined the Earl of Mayo who wanted to explore West Africa . They went up to Mossamedes , Humpata and the Kunene River. The group also toured the Congo from its mouth up to Stanley Pool and Bolobo . In 1884 he undertook the scientific research of the fauna and flora of Kilimanjaro in East Africa on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society in London . Here he climbed the Kibo up to an altitude of 5,090 meters.

In 1885 Johnston became Vice Consul in Cameroon , later also in the so-called Oil River District , which was renamed Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1891 . 1889 was sent to Mozambique in the same position . Here he examined the Leopoldsee (or Rikwa). From 1891–94 he worked as the British commissioner for Central Africa and ensured the safety of the traffic routes on Lake Nyassa .

In 1897 he was appointed British Consul General of Tunis , in 1899 British Commissioner and Consul General of the new Protectorate of Uganda . In 1900 he climbed the Ruwenzori up to 4,500 meters. In the spring of 1902 he retired from the diplomatic service. A short stopover in Liberia , where he was committed to economic and political progress, concluded his time in Africa.

He was unable to implement his subsequent political ambitions in England because he was defeated by his opponent in two elections (1904 and 1906).

Henry Hamilton Johnston died on July 31, 1927.

During his stay in the Congo area in 1900, Johnston discovered and named the okapi , among other things .

Awards

The two okapi-fur ribbons that Johnston sent home, which he originally considered to be from a new species of zebra.

• 1896 - Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
• 1901 - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
• 1901 - New Species Explorer of the Year (Okapi)
• 1902 - Gold Medal from the Zoological Society of London
• 1902 - Honorary Doctorate from Cambridge University

Works

• The river Congo from its mouth to Bolobo . London (1884)
• The Kilima-Njaro expedition . London (1886)
• Livingstone and the Exploration of Central Africa . London (1891)
• British Central Africa . London (1897)
• A history of the colonization of Africa by alien races . Cambridge (1899)
• The Uganda Protectorate . 2 vols. London (1902)
• Liberia . London (1906)
• George Grenfell and the Congo . London (1908)

literature

• Roland Anthony Oliver : Sir Harry Johnston and the Scramble for Africa . Chatto & Windus, London 1957.
• Alex Johnston: The Life and Letters of Sir Harry Johnston . Cape, London 1929 (the author was Harry Johnston's brother).

Web links

• Newspaper article about Henry Hamilton Johnston in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .