This week in Christian history: Pope's indulgence sparks Reformation, Roger Williams gets charter

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, March 14, 2021

David Livingstone born – March 19, 1813

A statue of 19th-century Scottish explorer, missionary and abolitionist David Livingstone | Wikimedia/Ad Meskins

This week marks the anniversary of when missionary to Africa David Livingstone was born in Blantyre, Scotland.

As a child, Livingstone worked in a cotton mill before studying medicine and theology during the 1830s. By the 1840s, Livingstone wanted to become a missionary in Africa.

“Livingstone became convinced of his mission to reach new peoples in the interior of Africa and introduce them to Christianity, as well as freeing them from slavery. It was this which inspired his explorations,” explained the BBC.

“In 1849 and 1851, he travelled across the Kalahari, on the second trip sighting the upper Zambezi River. In 1852, he began a four year expedition to find a route from the upper Zambezi to the coast. This filled huge gaps in western knowledge of central and southern Africa.”