John Hanning Speke
John Hanning Speke (4 May 1827 – 15 September 1864) was an officer in the British Indian Army who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa and who is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile and was in fact the person that reached (Lake Victoria) first and as such is the "discoverer of the source of the Nile". He is also known for propounding the Hamitic hypothesis in 1863 - his writings are an example of scientific racism. In this hypothesis, he supposed that the Tutsi ethnic group were descendants of the biblical figure, Ham, and had lighter skin and more “European” features than the Bantu-featured Hutu over whom they ruled.
Personal facts
| Birth date | May 04, 1827 |
|---|---|
| Birth place | |
| Date of death | September 15, 1864 |
| Place of death |