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David Livingstone's humerus

RCPSG, Illustrations in The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow by Tom Gibson

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David Livingstone's humerus

The humerus bone of David Livingstone (1813-1873), displaying the damage done to his upper arm when he was mauled by a lion. The condition of the bone verified that the remains which were returned from Africa in 1873 were indeed those of the famous explorer.

Livingstone was born in Blantyre and studied at Anderson's College of Medicine. He travelled in Africa as a missionary (campaigning vigorously in print against the slave trade) and an explorer (famously becoming the first European to discover the Victoria Falls on the Zambesi) in Africa. His heart was buried in Africa but his body was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey on 18 April 1874.

A statue of Livingstone by John Mossman was erected in George Square in 1879, relocated opposite Provand's Lordship in 1959 and then moved the short distance to Cathedral Square in 1990.

Reference: RCPSG, Illustrations used in The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow by Tom Gibson

Reproduced with the permission of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

Keywords:
Anderson's College of Medicine, bones, doctors, explorers, humerus, lions, missionaries, sculptures, statues, surgeons, Westminster Abbey



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