John Ludvig Burckhardt

John Ludvig Burckhardt (1784-1817), also John Ludwig Burckhardt, was a Swiss traveller, born at Lausanne, sent out from England by the African Association to explore Africa. He travelled by way of Syria. He acquired a proficiency in Arabic, and assumed Arabic customs. He pushed on to Mecca as a Mussulman pilgrim - the first Christian to risk such a venture. He returned to Egypt, and died at Cairo just as he was preparing for his African exploration. His travels were published after his death, and are distinguished for the veracious reports of things they contain.

Nearby pages
John Lydgate, John Lyly, John MacLeod Campbell, John Maitland, John Manners