Sir Henry Morton Stanley , GCB,
born John Rowlands (January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904), was a Britishjournalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his
search for David Livingstone. Stanley is often remembered
for the words uttered to Livingstone upon finding him: "Dr.
Livingstone, I presume?", although there is some question as to
authenticity of this now famous greeting.
Biography
Stanley was born in Denbigh, Wales. At the time, his mother, Elizabeth Parry, was nineteen years
old. According to Stanley himself, his father, John Rowlands, was an alcoholic;
there is some doubt as to his true parentage. His parents were unmarried, so his
birth certificate refers to him as a bastard, and the
stigma of illegitimacy weighed heavily upon him all his life. He
was raised by his grandfather until the age of five. When his guardian died,
Stanley stayed at first with cousins and nieces for a short time, but was
eventually sent to St. Asaph Union Workhouse for
the poor, where overcrowding and lack of supervision resulted in frequent abuse
by the older boys. When he was ten, his mother and two siblings stayed for a
short while in this workhouse, without Stanley realizing who they were. He stayed
until the age of 15. After completing an elementary education, he was employed
as a pupil teacher in a National School. In 1859, at the age of 18, he made
his passage to the United States in search of a new life. Upon arriving
in New Orleans, he absconded from his boat.
According to his own declarations, he became friendly with a wealthy trader
named Stanley, by accident: he saw Stanley sitting on a chair outside his store
and asked him if he had any job opening for a person such as himself. However,
he did so in the British style, "Do you want a boy, sir?" As it
happened, the childless man had indeed
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