You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast.

There are probably two questions on your brain right now.

The first one is, who was Mungo Park? And the second one, who would name their child

Mungo? Both are legitimate questions, but let's tackle the second one first. So why would someone

name their child Mongo?

Well, there is a Saint Mongo.

He is the patron saint of the city of Glasgow, Scotland.

The focus of our podcast, Mongol Park, was born in Scotland to a very religious family,

so that he was bestowed with the name is not crazy.

Of course the most famous Mungo is St. Mungo's hospital of magical maladies and injuries

from the Harry Potter universe.

It is the home of disgraced wizard Gilroy Lockhart.

The series author J.K. Rowling is of Scottish ancestry and resides in Scotland.

Okay, my nurdiness has been fully revealed.

Enough of the name Mungo.

On to our first question, who was Mungo Park?

Mungo Park was, as noted, a Scotsman.

He would become famous for his exploration of the Niger River in West Africa in the late 17 and early

1800s. The account of his first journey would help kick off an era of European exploration

in Africa, and it would also help create the image of the White Explorer plunging into the depths of the dark continent.

So let's get on with our story.

Mungo Park was born on September 11, 1771 in Shellkirchershire, Scotland. He came from a large family, the 7th of 13 siblings.

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