Speke
JOHN HANNING, an African explorer; born near Bideford, England, in May, 1827. He entered the Indian army at the age of 17, served in Sir Colin Campbell's division through the campaign in the Punjab, and during his annual leave of absence made exploring expeditions in the Himalayas and in Tibet, especially studying the botany, geology, and natural history of the region, and collecting specimens. He subsequently accompanied Captain Burton in his ex exploration of Eastern Africa, and in 1858 reached the head of the great lake Nyanza, under the Mountains of the Moon, and since called Victoria Nyanza. Desirous of ascertaining whether the Nile has its source in that lake, he set out from Zanzibar in 1860, accompanied by Captain Grant, to find the S. end of the lake; and after heroic struggles against extraordinary difficulties succeeded in his object, spent some time on the shores of the Nyanza, and striking the Nile at Urondogoni retraced its course to the lake. His "Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile" appeared in 1863, and a pamphlet, en- SPELLING REFORM titled "What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile," in 1864. He died Sept. 15, 1864.