John Kirk (explorer)

Sir John Kirk (Dec 19, 1832 – Jan 15, 1922) was a Scottish physician, naturalist, companion to explorer David Livingstone, and British administrator in Zanzibar. He was born in Barry, near Arbroath, Scotland and is buried in St. Nicholas's churchyard in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. He earned his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh. He was a keen botanist throughout his life and was highly regarded by successive directors of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew: Sir William Hooker, Joseph Dalton Hooker and William Thistleton-Dyer.

After the death of Livingston, Kirk pledged to continue Livingston's work to end the East African slave trade. For years he negotiated with the ruler of Zanzibar, Sultan Bargash, gaining his confidence and promising to help enrich the East African domain through legitimate commerce. The Sultan banned slave trading in 1873 and by 1885, the region was larger and more profitable. Unfortunately, after the Berlin Conference, the British Government forced Kirk as British Consul in Zanzibar to drop the Sultan as part of the "Scramble for Africa". (reference: Ferguson, N. Empire : How Britain Made the Modern World. p.236) See "Scramble for Africa".

Publications

'Account of the Zambezi District, in South Africa, with a Notice of Its Vegetable and Other Products', "Transactions of the Botanical Society" (1864), 8, 197-202....

'Ascent of the Rovuma', "Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London" (1864-1865), 9, 284-8.

'Dimorphism in the Flowers of Monochoria Vaginalis', "Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany" (1865), 8, 147.

'Extracts of a Letter of Dr. Kirk to Alex Kirk, Esq., Relating to the Livingstone Expedtion', "Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science" (1859), 185-6.

'Hints to Travellers - Extracts from a Letter from John Kirk', "Journal of the Royal Geographical Society" (1864), 34, 290-2.

'Letter Dated 28 February Replying to Dr. Peters', "Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London" (1865), 227.

'Letter from Dr. John Kirk (of the Livingstone Expedition), Dated H.M Ship Pioneer, River Shire, East Africa, 14th December 1861.' "Transactions of the Botanical Society" (1862), 7, 389-92.

'Letter from Dr. John Kirk, Physician and Naturalists to the Livingstone Expedition, Relative to the Country near Lake Shirwa, in Africa', "Transactions of the Botanical Society" (1859), 6, 317-21, plate VII.

'Letter from John Kirk to Professor Balfour', "Transactions of the Botanical Society" (1864), 8, 110-1.

'List of Mammalia Met with in Zambesia, East Tropical Africa', "Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London" (1864), 649-60.

'Notes on the Gradient of the Zambesi, on the Level of Lake Nyassa, on the Murchison Rapids, and on Lake Shirwa', "Journal of the Royal Geographical Society" (1865), 35, 167-9.

'Notes on Two Expeditions up the River Rovuma, East Africa', "Journal of the Royal Geographical Society" (1865), 35, 154-67.

'On a Few Fossil Bones from the Alluvial Strata of the Zambesi Delta', "Journal of the Royal Geographical Society" (1864), 34, 199-201.

'On a New Dye-Wood of the Genus Cudranea, from Tropical Africa', "Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany" (1867), 9, 229-30.

'On a New Genus of Liliaceæ from East Tropical Africa', "Transactions of the Linnean Society" (1864), 24, 497-9.

'On a New Harbour Opposite Zanzibar', "Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London" (1866-1867), 11, 35-6.

'On Musa Livingstoniana, a New Banana from Tropical Africa', "Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany" (1867), 9, 128.

'On the "Tsetse" Fly of Tropical Africa (Glossina Morsitans, Westwood).' J"ournal of the Linnean Society: Zoology" (1865), 8, 149-56.

'On the Birds of the Zambezi Region of Eastern Tropical Africa', "Ibis" (1864), 6, 307-39.

'On the Palms of East Tropical Africa', "Journal of the Linnean Society": Botany (1867), 9, 230-5.

'Report on the Natural Products and Capabilities of the Shire and Lower Zambesi Valleys', "Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London" (1861-1862), 6, 25-32.

Other Sources

Dritsas, Lawrence. 2005. "From Lake Nyassa to Philadelphia: A Geography of the Zambesi Expedition, 1858-64." "British Journal for the History of Science" 38, no. 1: 35-52.

Foskett, Reginald, ed. 1965. "The Zambesi Journal and Letters of Dr. John Kirk, 1858-63". Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.

Ferguson, Niall. 2003. Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World. London: Penguin Books. pp. 156, 157-8, 236-7, 239.

Liebowitz, Daniel. 1999. "The Physician and the Slave Trade: John kirk, the Livingstone Expeditions, and the Crusade against Slavery in East Africa." New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.

Martelli, George. 1970. "Livingstone's River: A History of the Zambezi Expedition", 1858-1864. London: Chatto & Windus.