1863-1942

British Army officer who explored western China, Afghanistan, and the mountains of northern India. He was the first European to explore a 1,200-mile (1,931-km) section of the Gobi Desert and in 1904 was the first European to enter Lhasa, Tibet, in more than 50 years. There he met with the Dalai Lama and negotiated a treaty that guaranteed British political and trade interests. He was the youngest person to be elected to the Royal Geographical Society in Britain.