Mary Kingsley
| Mary Kingsley | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
13 October 1862 Islington, London |
| Died | 3 June 1900 (aged 37) Simon's Town, South Africa |
| Nationality | English |
| Known for | Travels and writings on West Africa |
Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an English ethnographic and scientific writer and explorer whose travels throughout West Africa and resulting work helped shape European perceptions of African cultures and British imperialism.
Kingsley was born in London 13 October 1862, the daughter and oldest child of doctor, traveler, and writer George Kingsley and Mary Bailey. She came from a family of writers, as she was also the niece of novelists Charles Kingsley and Henry Kingsley. The family moved to Highgate less than a year after her birth, the same home where her brother Charles George R. ("Charley") Kingsley was born in 1866, and by 1881 were living in Southwood House, Bexley in Kent.
Her father was a doctor and worked for George Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke and other aristocrats and was regularly away from home on his excursions. During these voyages he collected information for his studies. Dr. Kingsley accompanied Lord Dunraven on a trip to North America in 1870-1875. During this trip, Dr. Kingsley was invited to accompany Custer's U.S. Army expedition against the Sioux Indians. The reported massacre of Custer's force terrified the Kingsley family, but they were relieved to learn that bad weather had kept Dr. Kingsley from joining Custer. It is possible that her father's views on injustices faced by the Native Americans helped shape Mary's later opinions on British cultural imperialism in West Africa.
In terms of Kingsley's education, she had little formal schooling compared to her brother, other than German lessons at a young age; because, at that time, and at her level of society, education was not thought to be necessary for a girl. She did, however, have access to her father's large library and loved to hear her father's stories of foreign countries. She did not enjoy novels that were deemed more appropriate for young ladies of the time, such as those by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë but preferred books on the sciences and memoirs of explorers. In 1886, her brother Charley entered Christ's College, Cambridge, to study law; this allowed Mary to make several academic connections and a few friends.
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