David Livingstone was one of the most revered and respected African explorers of his time. He spent nearly 30 years exploring a region little known to the outside world. He often put ambition ahead of his family and his own personal health in his quest to open the African interior to "civilization, Christianity and commerce." (Hollett 236) Through his daring explorations into the unknown, he discovered and documented many new landmarks within. the dark continent, and became at times obsessed with his determination to find a single source of the Nile. He had a major impact on later expeditions to Central Africa. .Livingstone was born into a poor Scottish family in 1813. From the age of ten, Livingstone worked in a cotton mill while continuing his evening studies. He was an avid reader and often stayed up until noon or more, immersed in a book. Livingstone enjoyed reading on a variety of subjects, but mainly read scientific works and explorers' journals. As a boy, David made few friends. Others described him as quiet, sulky and unremarkable. Despite this, David was a tireless worker and extremely motivated to achieve his goals. By age 17, Livingstone had decided he wanted to leave the factory and become a doctor. Livingstone's father, a deeply religious man, wanted him to go into a religious field and would not allow him. Livingstone eventually convinced his father to let him go to school and become a missionary to China. After completing his studies, Livingstone had planned to go to China to fulfill his missionary duties, but because of the Opium War, Livingstone's plans were changed. He continued his studies and became a respected member of the medical community. Soon, however, he offered his services to the London Missionary Society and was assigned to a mission in Africa. The first knowledge and exploration of Africa was limited to desert and coastal regions. The humid interior regions presented many difficulties for would-be explorers. This included climate, vegetation, and hostile people and creatures. In the 18th and 19th centuries, most of Africa was unexplored and unmapped. The British were the first Europeans to seriously attempt to explore the African interior. Earlier European contacts were rel...... middle of paper ...... If the Lualaba River was the source of the Nile, it was only confirmed after Livingstone's death that Lake Victoria and the mountains of the Moon were the actual sources of the Nile. Livingstone's missions began and ended in Africa. His explorations took place mainly in the regions of Lake Tanganyika and the Lualaba River. He loved living with the indigenous people, eating their food, sleeping in their huts and, without losing his own identity, he made their lives his own. He probably understood the African people; their beliefs, their fears and their needs better than anyone outside Africa at that time. He sacrificed his personal needs for what he believed to be his mission in Africa and was probably more spiritually happy to die there than any other place. David Livingstone's three works on South Africa and South Central Africa have had a major impact on the world's understanding of and social and political attitudes and policies towards Africa. Although his books made him one of the most famous and respected explorers, he was not as concerned with fame and wealth as he was with the support and resources needed to pursue his goals on the African continent. , then dark..