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Explorer, soldier, poet, translator, diplomat, spy, linguist, writer, cartographer, fencer, and more. A great and enigmatic person in history. Burton traveled the world, going to places that few westerners had ever been. Most importantly, he wrote about them. He spoke 29 languages. While not the first westerner to make the Hajj to Mecca, he was the first to widely report upon it. He translated One Thousand and One Nights and the Kama Sutra. He was one of the first Europeans to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. And those are just the highlights.
“Do what thy manhood bids thee do; from none but self expect applause.”
Burton was born in 1821. His family traveled considerably, leading to his love of journey. He had a gift for language. It is reported that as a young man he had an affair with a young gypsy woman, and learned their language.
He attended prestigious Trinity College at Oxford, but spent much of his time pursuing falconry and fencing. He broke rules and was expelled.
“Fit for nothing but six pence a day,” Burton said and enlisted in the Army. Stationed in India, he immersed himself in the local culture to the point where his fellow soldiers accused him of “going native” and also called him “the White Nigger.” But they also called him “Ruffian Dick” because he…
