Boyd Alexander

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Boyd Francis Alexander

Born	(1873-01-16)16 January 1873 Cranbrook, Kent, England
Died	2 April 1910(1910-04-02) (aged 37)
Nationality	English
Known for	Exploration and ornithology

Boyd Alexander (16 January 1873 – 2 April 1910) was an English British Army officer, explorer and ornithologist.

Lieutenant Boyd Francis Alexander was the oldest son of Lt Colonel Boyd Francis Alexander. On his mother's side he was the grandson of David Wilson the founder of one of the most famous hotels in India, the Great Eastern Hotel in Calcutta.

Lieutenant Alexander was a member of an expedition which travelled across Africa from the Niger to the Nile, exploring the Lake Chad area. Alexander was accompanied by his brother Claud, Captain G. B. Gosling and José Lopes. In February 1904 they set off from the mouth of the Niger, travelling upriver to Lokoja. Claud died in October of enteric fever after making a survey of the Murchison Range. Boyd and Gosling explored the area around Lake Chad. Gosling died in June 1906 at Niangara of blackwater fever. Boyd then followed the River Kibali, reaching the Nile late in the year and returning to England in February 1907. Alexander's account From The Niger To The Nile was published later that year. In 1908 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society "for his three years' journey across Africa from the Niger to the Nile."

Alexander and Lopes sailed back to Africa in 1909. They visited Claud's grave at Maifoni in Bornu and then continued to Ouadai. Boyd was killed in a dispute with locals near Nyeri. His body was recovered by French soldiers and buried next to his brother in Maifoni.

References

Ogilvie-Grant, W R (1910). "Boyd Alexander and his ornithological work". Ibis: 716–729.
Forbes, Edgar Allen (April 1908). "Across Central Africa By Boat: The Alexander-Gosling Expedition Through The Heart Of The Sudan". The World's Work: A History of Our Time XV: 10080–10090. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
Mearns, Barbara and Richard, Biographies for Birdwatchers ISBN 0-12-487422-3

Authority control	VIAF: 88119227 ISNI: 0000 0001 0802 7679 BNF: cb16621279h

Persondata
Name	Alexander, Boyd
Alternative names
Short description	Army officer, explorer, ornithologist
Date of birth	16 January 1873
Place of birth	Cranbrook, Kent, England
Date of death	2 April 1910
Place of death

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