John Hanning Speke (1827-1864) born at Bideford; Devon; England. Officer in the British Indian Army and explorer of Africa. Accompanied Richard Burtons expedition (1855-1858); sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society; when he discovered Lake Victoria Nyanza. On a subsequent expedition of 1860-1862 he discovered the exit from the lake into the White Nile which he named Ripon Falls. Engraving from "The Leisure Hour" (London; 1864).