Charles John Andersson

"Trodden on by elephants, ripped up by the horn of a rhinoceros, suffering hunger and thirst, our author has survived all these dangers to write us a very interesting book." -The Rambler, 1856

"Charles Andersson was attacked and crushed to death by a wounded elephant…his passion for hunting led him into needless dangers." - New American Cyclopaedia, 1857

Charles John Andersson (also Karl Johan Andersson)

Andersson was born on March 4, 1827 in Sweden. He was the illegitimate child of the British bear hunter Llewellyn Lloyd and Lloyd's Swedish servant.

Andersson grew up in Sweden. Early in his life he went on hunting expeditions with his father and started a collection of biology specimens.

In 1849 he departed for London, intending to sell his collection to raise money for travels around the world. In London he met the explorer Francis Galton, with whom he organised an expedition to Southern Africa, which he narrated in LAKE NGAMI.

Andersson ultimately launched several ventures in Damaraland, including a copper mining scheme. He was briefly elected Chief of the Damara in 1864, but he was severely wounded in battle against the Nama Hottentots. He died there in 1867, and is considered the most important early European explorer of the region.

Click any of the title-pages below to learn more about the title and to see additional images.

LAKE NGAMI

THE OKAVANGO RIVER

THE LION AND THE ELEPHANT

NOTES OF TRAVEL IN SOUTH AFRICA