Verney Lovett Cameron

Born July 1, 1844, in Radipole, Dorsetshire; died Mar. 27, 1894, in Salisbury. British naval officer, explorer of Central Africa.

Sent to help D. Livingstone, Cameron in March 1873 traveled west from the shore of the Indian Ocean at 6° 30′S way from Zanzibar to Lake Tanganyika he met African companions of Livingstone carrying his remains to the sea. Cameron reached Lake Tanganyika in 1874, explored part of its shores, discovered its western outlet, the Lukuga River, and reached the Lualaba River, which he rightly considered as belonging to the Congo system. He followed the Lualaba southward to approximately 8°S lat., traced the watershed between the basins of the lower Congo and the upper Zambezi, and reached the Atlantic Ocean at 12°30′ S lat. in November 1875. While crossing Africa, Cameron made about 4, 000 altitude measurements, thus initiating the precise study of the relief of Central Africa.