Sir Henry Morton Stanley: Explorer, Journalist, Survivalist Extraordinaire

Unbreakable: A man who had an iron will

Born in England to parents that eventually abandoned him to a Workhouse for the Poor where he was treated harshly, he eventually moved to America where he was “enlisted” in the Confederate Army, Union Army, and the Union Navy (possibly the only person to do all three). Becoming a journalist after the war, he covered the expansion of the American West before going on an expedition to the Ottoman Empire where he was imprisoned. Eventually getting out of prison, he worked for the New York Herald on several expeditions in Ethiopia before beginning his most famous trek 700 miles across African jungle to find the missionary Dr. Livingstone. “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” became a famous statement when he finally found the missionary/explorer in Tanzania (another story of heroism).

Stanley overcame sickness,war, cannibals,loss of his fiancee and death at every turn while members of his expeditions died by the barrel full. He got out of bed every day and shaved no matter the situation: a ritual that became a lifeline in a world of chaos. He bought a slave boy named Kalulu, set him free and adopted him. Kalulu would later go on to study in Europe and accompany Stanley on expeditions where Kalulu was killed when his canoe went over a waterfall.

The expeditions into danger and Valor shown by Stanley cannot be matched. From the boy who was abandoned to a hero of the modern world, Stanley had an unbreakable will. “Bula Matari” translated “the breaker of rocks” was his African nickname and is on his gravestone.

The Valorous never give up. Valor is in you. Set it free.