Mansfield Parkyns
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Mansfield Parkyns ( February 16, 1823 in Ruddington , Nottinghamshire - January 12, 1894 in Woodborough , Nottinghamshire) was a British traveler to Africa and travel writer .
Life
Parkyns attended Trinity College , Cambridge , but left without a degree in 1839. He followed his inner call for adventure and left Great Britain. In Greece he met the British writer Richard Monckton Milnes with whom he was then on the road for a while. Parkyns reached Istanbul in the fall of 1842 ; on March 5, 1843 he left Cairo for a trip to Abyssinia . Without a specific plan, he traveled wandering from Massaua to Khartoum , made observations and learned about the customs of the country. In Khartoum met the scientistFrancis Galton on Parkyns; Parkyns then became Galton's travel guide. He married the Abyssinian Tures, with whom he had a son, John.
After more than three years in Abyssinia, he returned to England alone in 1846. On February 15, 1850, he was appointed attaché to the embassy in Istanbul. After returning to England, he married Emma Louisa Bethell on September 14, 1852 and settled in Woodborough. The two had eight daughters. In 1853 he published his travelogues under the title Life in Abyssinia , which were received with attention. Parkyns confirmed some observations made by James Bruce , who traveled to Abyssinia as early as 1770.
In Nottinghamshire, he served in the local militia and was ranked first lieutenant colonel . In 1858 he started working at the bankruptcy court , first in Exeter and later in London . In 1884 he retired.
Parkyns was an active member of the Royal Geographical Society and was in demand for his language skills. He was also a talented carver , whose work was on display in Woodborough Church.
Works
- Life in Abyssinia: Being Notes collected during three years' Residence and Travels in that country 1st edition, 1853, published by John Murray
- Life in Abyssinia: Being Notes collected during three years' Residence and Travels in that country 2nd edition, 1868, published by John Murray
literature
- Thomas Seccombe: Parkyns, Mansfield in: Dictionary of National Biography , Volume 43, 1895 Parkyns, Mansfield (DNB00)
- Sir Duncan Cumming: The Gentleman Savage: The Life of Mansfield Parkyns, 1823-1894 , Century, 1987, ISBN 978-0-7126-1734-5
- WB Carnochan: Golden Legends: Images of Abyssinia, Samuel Johnson to Bob Marley , Stanford University Press , 2008, ISBN 978-0-8047-6098-0 , pp. 36–44 [2]
- WE Buckland: Mansfield Parkyns - Obituary in: Woodborough Magazine , February 1894 [3]
Web links
- Peter Saunders: Mansfield Parkyns (A Woodborough Worthy) [4]
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Seccombe: Parkyns , 1895
- ↑ Carnochan: Golden Legends , 2008, p. 37
- ↑ Michael Bulmer: Francis Galton: Pioneer of Heredity and Biometry , Johns Hopkins University Press , 2004 ISBN 978-0-8018-8140-4 , p. 25 [1]
- ↑ Carnochan: Golden Legends , 2008, pp. 42-44
- ↑ Arthur Mee: The King's England: Nottinghamshire , Hodder & Stoughton, 1938
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Parkyns, Mansfield |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British African traveler and travel writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 16, 1823 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ruddington , Nottinghamshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 12, 1894 |
| Place of death | Woodborough , Nottinghamshire |