Awards & Winners

John Hanning Speke

Date of Birth 04-May-1827
Place of Birth Somerset
(United Kingdom, with Dependencies and Territories, England, United Kingdom, South West England)
Nationality United Kingdom
Profession Military Officer
John Hanning Speke was an officer in the British Indian Army who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa and who is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile and the discovery and naming of Lake Victoria. He is also known for propounding the Hamitic hypothesis in 1863 - his writings are an example of scientific racism. In this hypothesis, he supposed that the Tutsi ethnic group were descendants of the biblical figure, Ham, and had lighter skin and more “European” features than the Bantu-featured Hutu over whom they ruled.

Awards by John Hanning Speke

Check all the awards nominated and won by John Hanning Speke.

1861


Founder's Gold Medal
(For his eminent geographical discoveries in Africa, and especially his discovery of the great lake Victoria Nyanza)