Chaillu , Paul Belloni du , 1835-1903 , explorer

Paul Belloni du Chaillu was born in France on 31 July 1835. He accompanied his father to Gabon at a young age and in 1852 travelled to United States and was entrusted by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia with a mission to West Africa, setting out in 1855 to Gabon. Du Chaillu was, or claimed to be the first European to kill a gorilla in the wild. In 1867 he again travelled to Africa and hoped to reach the Congo and the Nile. The map accompanying the account of the expedition 'A journey to Ashango Land' (London, 1867) is based upon 15 observed latitutes and 7 longitudes and until his obituary was published in 1903, was the only authority on the geography of the greater part of the country delineated. He was rewarded with honorary membership of the Royal Geographical Society. Following this he spent a few years in United States and wrote books for children including 'Stories of the Gorilla Country' (1867), he died in 1903.