Mary Kingsley

Mary Kingsley
Mary Kingsley (1890s)
Born(1862-10-13)13 October 1862
Islington, London, England
Died3 June 1900(1900-06-03) (aged 37)
Simon's Town, Cape Colony
Known forTravels and writings on West Africa
For the English novelist, see Mary St Leger Kingsley.

Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an English ethnographer, writer and explorer known for her travels through West Africa and her books on her experiences there. Historians have credited Kingsley's work with helping to shape Western perceptions of the culture of Africa and colonialism.

Kingsley made three trips to Africa: the first to Sierra Leone and Angola August–December 1893, a second to locations including Calabar, Gabon, Corisco, and Mount Cameroon December 1894–November 1895, and a third to Cape Town and Simon's Town in 1900; she died of typhoid fever she was treating while working as a nurse on that final voyage. Between her last two trips she wrote two influential books on her travel, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899), as well as speaking and organizing widely regarding British imperial affairs in Africa. The Royal African Society was founded in her memory in 1901.

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