David Livingstone was born near Glasgow, Scotland, in 1813. At the age of 10 he had to go to work in a textile mill to support his family, but he was determined to get an education, so he would work 14 hours in the mill each day, then study for two hours each night at night school. Still determined to finish his studies when the school closed, Livingstone devised a way to attach a book to a spinning jenny at the mill in order to read while he worked. In 1836 he was admitted to university to study medicine and theology; in 1840, he became ordained. He intended to go to China as a medical missionary, but war broke out there and he chose Africa instead. Livingstone made a few trips back to England, during which he took up humanitarian causes such as the abolition of the slave trade, but spent most of the rest of his life doing mission work in Africa.In addition to spreading the Gospel, Livingstone made many trips to explore the then-uncharted African interior. His trips led to many important discoveries, including that of Victoria Falls, the world's highest waterfall, and earned him such high accolades as the Gold Medal from the British Royal Geographical Society. He married Mary Moffatt, the daughter of a missionary in Africa, and together they had four children. Livingstone's wife and children often accompanied him on his exploring trips, but he deemed the conditions too harsh for his family and sent them back to England. On May 1, 1873, Livingstone died while kneeling in prayer. His servants buried his heart in Africa, but sent his body back to England to be entombed at Westminster Abbey following a public funeral.
For more information about David Livingstone, please see BBC Historic Figures or Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard, copyright 2003 by Doubleday.
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