Johnston, Sir Harry Hamilton

Johnston, Sir Harry Hamilton, 1858–1927, British explorer and colonial official. His early interest in the natural sciences was combined with his concern for the political problems of colonial Africa. He began his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa in 1882 and in 1883 encountered Henry Morton Stanley in the Congo Basin. In 1884 he made an expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro that uncovered valuable scientific data and strengthened Britain's political hold in East Africa. Johnston entered the foreign service in 1885; he served in colonial administrative positions in many parts of Africa and established a British protectorate over Nyasaland (present-day Malawi). After his retirement (1902) he continued his naturalist studies. He was knighted in 1896.