Richard burton death

Sir Richard Francis Burton, c. ©Burton was a Victorian explorer, writer and translator, known for his travels in Asia and Africa.

Richard Francis Burton was born in Devon on 19 March His father was an army officer. Burton accompanied his parents on their frequent trips abroad and showed an early talent for languages.

Burton was thrown out of Oxford University in and joined the army of the East India Company where his knowledge of local languages helped his work in surveying and in intelligence.

Richard f burton biography wikipedia Born in Torquay , Devon , Burton joined the Bombay Army as an officer in , beginning an eighteen-year military career which including a brief stint in the Crimean War. Although he abandoned his university studies, Burton became a prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and academic articles on subjects such as human behaviour , travel , falconry , fencing , sexual practices and ethnography. Richard Burton was born in Torquay , Devon , on 19 March ; in his autobiography, he incorrectly claimed to have been born in the family home of Barham House in Elstree , Hertfordshire. Burton's mother, Martha Baker, was the daughter and co-heiress of Richard Baker, a wealthy Hertfordshire squire whom Burton was named after. Burton's family travelled extensively during his childhood and employed various tutors to educate him.

In , taking leave from the company, he undertook a 'Hajj' or pilgrimage to Mecca, in disguise, and his account of this trip made him famous. The following year he explored what is now Somalia with a number of other officers, including John Speke.

In , Burton and Speke embarked on a Royal Geographical Society funded expedition to explore inland from the east African coast, with the hope of finding the source of the Nile.

It was a difficult trip. When they arrived at Lake Tanganyika, Speke was almost blind and Burton could hardly walk.

Richard f burton books He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke twenty-nine European, Asian, and African languages. His best-known achievements include: a well-documented journey to Mecca, at a time when Europeans were forbidden access on pain of death; an unexpurgated translation of The Arabian Nights; the publication of the Kama Sutra in English; a translation of The Perfumed Garden, the "Arab Kama Sutra"; and a journey with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and was awarded a knighthood in Burton's best-known achievements include: a well-documented journey to Mecca in disguise, at a time when Europeans were forbidden access on pain of death; an unexpurgated translation of One Thousand and One Nights commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after early translations of Antoine Galland's French version ; the publication of the Kama Sutra in English; a translation of The Perfumed Garden, the "Arab Kama Sutra"; and a journey with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile.

Speke travelled on alone and discovered Lake Victoria, which he was convinced was the Nile's source. Burton disagreed and this contributed to a long and bitter public quarrel between the two men which ended in September when Speke died in a shooting which was either suicide or an accident.

Burton now joined the Foreign Office, and was appointed consul in Fernando Po, an island off the coast of West Africa.

His wife Isabel, who he had married in , was unable to join him as the climate was considered too unhealthy.

Richard f burton biography death

British Broadcasting Corporation Home. Sir Richard Francis Burton, c. Richard Francis Burton was born in Devon on 19 March His father was an army officer. Burton accompanied his parents on their frequent trips abroad and showed an early talent for languages.

They were reunited when he was transferred to Brazil and then, in , to Damascus. In , he was moved to Trieste, where his position gave him plenty of time to write. He was knighted in

Burton was a prolific author, mainly on travel and ethnography. He also translated classical and Renaissance literature, with a particular interest in eastern erotica - he translated and printed the 'Kama Sutra' () and 'The Perfumed Garden' ().

Richard f burton biography Sir Richard Francis Burton , English explorer, scholar, poet, translator, and diplomat, explored in Africa and Asia and studied Oriental literature and American religions. Richard Burton was born on March 19, , in the west of England into the family of a ne'er-do-well gentleman soldier and a putative descendant of an illegitimate son of Louis XIV. Soon the family moved to Tours, France, where Burton received a classical education. As a boy, he exhibited courage, derring-do, and a wavering self-control. When he was 10, Burton's family returned briefly to England.

He also published a complete edition of the 'Arabian Nights' ( - ).

Burton died in Trieste on 20 October He and Isabel are buried in a tomb in the shape of a Bedouin tent in Mortlake, southwest London.