Born November 24, 1784, Lausanne, Switzerland
Died October 15, 1817, Cairo, Egypt

In 1788 a group of twelve London gentlemen, led by scientist and explorer Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820), formed the Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa—also known as the African Association. Intent on sending explorers to investigate the little-known interior of the continent, the group was especially interested in opening up the Niger River region, which was believed to be an area of great wealth and the location of a rich trade center called Timbuktu. In 1796 Scottish physician Mungo Park (1771–1806) was the first Association-sponsored explorer to successfully reach the Niger, although he died during a second expedition there. In 1806 Swiss scholar Jean-Louis Burckhardt was hired for the same mission, but his route to the Niger was to begin in North Africa, from Cairo by way of caravan travel. While Burckhardt arrived in...