Birth of Livingstone celebrated

Mar 19 2013

The bicentenary of the birth of missionary David Livingstone is to be celebrated with events in Scotland and London.

The explorer, who spent much of his life in Africa, will be remembered both at his birthplace in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, and in London at Westminster Abbey where he was buried in 1874.

Dr Livingstone grew up in poverty but went on to explore central and southern Africa where he became the first European to "discover" and name Victoria Falls, advanced the use of quinine to fight malaria and campaigned to end slavery in east Africa.

His life will be celebrated at the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre where local school children will bury a time capsule which includes material provided by children from Chilamba Primary School in Dedzaron, Malawi. A wreath-laying ceremony organised by the National Trust for Scotland will be held at Westminster Abbey.

Dr Livingstone's great-granddaughter Elspeth Murdoch, 84, will be at the abbey memorial service, alongside modern-day explorers John Blashford-Snell and Sir David Attenborough and guest of honour Joyce Banda, the president of Malawi.

Ms Murdoch lives in Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire but was born at a medical mission in Africa. She visited the David Livingstone Centre to preview a new exhibition, The Nyangwe Diary: Shining new light on Livingstone, which opens today.

It is the first time original pages of the diary that Livingstone wrote in 1871 will be on show to the public.

Dr Livingstone died from malaria on May 1 1873 in an area of Chief Chitambo's village in Ilala, south-east of Lake Bangweulu in present-day Zambia.

Meanwhile, Dr Banda will also be at the Scottish Parliament earlier today to address guests and members of the public.

The bicentenary celebrations are part of the wider David Livingstone 200 international programme of events which will see activities across the UK and Africa.