John Hanning Speke

For the English MP, see John Speke (landowner).

John Hanning Speke
Born(1827-05-04)4 May 1827
Buckland Brewer, Devon
Died15 September 1864(1864-09-15) (aged 37)
Neston Park, Wiltshire
Burial placeDowlish Wake, Somerset
Occupation(s)Military officer, explorer
Speke's coat of arms: Argent, two bars azure overall an eagle with two heads displayed gules (Speke of Whitelackington) with honourable augmentation a chief azure thereon a representation of flowing water proper superinscribed with the word "Nile" in letters gold[1]

Captain John Hanning Speke (4 May 1827 – 15 September 1864) was an English explorer and military officer who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa. He is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile and was the first European to reach Lake Victoria (known to locals as Nam Lolwe in Dholuo and Nnalubaale or Ukerewe in Luganda). Speke is also known for propounding the Hamitic hypothesis in 1863, in which he supposed that the Tutsi ethnic group were descendants of the biblical figure Ham, and had lighter skin and more Hamitic features than the Bantu Hutu over whom they ruled.

  1. ^ Pirie-Gordon, H., ed. (1937). "Speke of Jordans". Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry (15th ed.). London. p. 2104.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)