Richard Francis Burton facts for kids

Sir Richard Francis Burton
Sir Richard Francis Burton ; KCMG FRGS
	Burton in 1864
Born	19 March 1821; Torquay, Devon, England
Died	20 October 1890 (aged 69); Trieste, Austria-Hungary
Burial place	St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake, London, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Mirza Abdullah the Bushri; Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî; Frank Baker
Alma mater	Trinity College, Oxford
Occupation	Soldier, diplomat, explorer, translator, arabist, author
Notable work	Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Meccah;; The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night;; The Kasidah
Spouse(s)	Isabel Arundell (m. 1861)
	Military career
Nickname	Ruffian Dick
Allegiance	British Empire
Service/branch	Bombay Army
Years of service	1842–61
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Crimea War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George; Crimea Medal
Signature

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) was a famous English explorer, writer, translator, ethnologist, spy and soldier.

He traveled a lot in Asia, Africa and the Americas. As a spy for the British government, he was also among the very few Western Christian people who secretly managed to visit the Islamic holy city of Mecca, in Arabia, at the time of the Hajj

He is also famous for his English language translation of the Arabic book, One Thousand and One Nights (also called The Arabian Nights).

Images for kids

Burton in Persian disguise as "Mirza Abdullah the Bushri" (ca. 1849–50).
"The Pilgrim", illustration from Burton's Personal Narrative (Burton disguised as "Haji Abdullah", 1853).
Isabel Burton
Routes taken by the expeditions of Burton and Speke (1857–58) and Speke and Grant (1863).
Monument commemorating Burton and Speke's arrival in Ujiji
Lake Tanganyika photographed from orbit. Burton was the first European to see the lake.
Burton in 1876
Richard Burton's Tomb at Mortlake, south west London, June 2011.
Close up of inscription on the tomb.
Burton pictured later in life.