Alexander Gordon Laing: a Scottish Explorer of Africa

He came to an unfortunate end

Born in 1794, Alexander Gordon Laing was the first European to reach the city of Timbuktu (in what is now Mali), after one of the longest journeys ever made across the Sahara Desert. Shortly before making that trek, he fell in love and married. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to enjoy his marriage or the fame he might have won for his explorations. He was murdered outside Timbuktu just after beginning his return trip to Europe.

An Officer in Africa

Laing first went to Africa as a British army officer, stationed in the territory of Sierra Leone on the continent’s west coast. He was assigned to find new trade routes to the interior, but his real interest was in exploring the Niger River. Although his request to lead an expedition inland was denied, he was given command of a patrol near the headwaters of the river. He became convinced that the Niger did not flow into the Nile River, and he was determined to prove his theory. Hostile Africans in the region blocked his efforts to follow the Niger, but he did discover the source of the Rokel River.

After serving in the Ashanti War from 1823 to 1824, Laing was assigned to give a personal report of the conflict to Lord Bathurst, the British secretary of state for…