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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Pete's Pantheon: Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, More Accomplished Than You


It's fun to imagine the profile of Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) on Linkedin...

Skills: Linguist (speak almost 30 languages), ethnologist, explorer, cartographer, author, translator, swordsman, spy, soldier, diplomat


Experience: Traveled extensively in India, Africa, United States, South America, Face pierced by javelin thrown by Somali warrior in coastal skirmish, barely escaped with life, (Scars plainly visible still). Came down with malaria while leading expedition seeking the source of the Nile, was among the very first Westerners to visit the Islamic holy cities of Medina and Mecca, where disguised as an Afghan, I measured and sketched the Ka'aba. Worked the world over as a diplomat for Her Majesty, the Queen of England, knighted for services to Queen and country. Published too many books to list here including first Western unexpurgated version of "The Arabian Nights" and the sexual how-to from India "The Kama Sutra". Was also the basis for two characters in the writing of Rudyard Kipling. British consul in several hemispheres including stints in Damascus and Trieste.

References: Henry Morton Stanley, David Livingstone

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