David Livingstone was born, March 19, 1813, and died, May 1, 1873. He was found kneeling by his bedside having died while praying.
Livingstone was born in Scotland. His friend was a missionary called Robert Moffat, who inspired him with stories of “the vast plain to the north” like Kuruman, in southern Africa, where he had seen “the smoke of a thousand villages, where no missionary had ever been.” It was at Kuruman, where the Moffats were based that Livingstone trekked in 1841. He immediately fell in love with Africa; he also fell in love with the Moffats’ oldest daughter, Mary. They were married in 1845.
Livingstone’s zeal for exploration was at least as strong as his zeal for evangelization. He and Mary would set off on frequent expeditions into the wilderness, earning him the rebuke of his mother-in-law.
Livingstone finally sent his family home to England, unfortunately to live in poverty. Some believed his wife began drinking. Meanwhile, he began his greatest journey across the continent along the Zambezi River. Hostile tribes and fever were constant threats, but Livingstone and his tribesmen reached the coast in six months. Then they turned back and did it again.
In his travels, Livingstone encountered the brutal slave trade. He was convinced that a combination of “Christianity and commerce” would bring prosperity to the region and thereby end the evils of slavery.
Returning to England in 1856, Livingstone was hailed as a national hero. He made two more expeditions; neither was as successful as the first. The last time he went to Africa was to search the source of the Nile but he did not find it. He stayed seven years. He suffered from malnutrition and fever.
After Henry Stanley found him, the two men became friends. Stanley later said of him, “For months I found myself listening to him, wondering at the old man carrying out the words, ‘leave all and follow me.’ Little by little, seeing his piety, gentleness, zeal, and how he went quietly about his business, I was converted by him.”
Sources
Morgan, R.J. Real Stories for the Soul. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, electronic ed. 2000), p. 97.
Morgan, R.J. On This Day (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, electronic ed. 2000), March 14.
Newenhuyse, Elizabeth Cody. "The Gallery-Missionary Pioneers." Christian History: William Carey and the Great Missions Century. (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, 1992; published in electronic form by Logos Research systems, 1996)
