biography
| name: |
Burton, Sir Richard (Francis)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1821–90)
|
| biography:
| Explorer and language expert, born in Torquay, Devon, SW England, UK. He studied in Europe and Oxford, where he was expelled in 1842. In 1856 he set out with Speke on the journey which led to the discovery of L Tanganyika (1858), and afterwards travelled in North America, holding consular posts in Fernando Pó, Santos, Damascus, and Trieste. He wrote over 80 volumes on the sociology and anthropology of the countries he visited, and became famous for his translations of Arab literature. He was knighted in 1886. Lady Burton, née Isabel Arundell (1831–96), who shared in much of his travelling and writing, burned most of her husband's papers after his death. |
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