Engraving of Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), the English explorer, linguist and diplomat, disguised as a Pathan, c.1853. A master of up to 30 languages, Burton made a pilgrimage to Mecca disguised as 'Shaykh Abdullah' in 1853 and later explored Africa, settting out with John Hanning Speke, to search for the source of the Nile River. In later life he served as a British diplomat in Brazil, Syria and Italy.