Question 1

True or false: Livingstone was a fierce critic of the slave trade and primarily worked as a missionary and explorer.

Accepted Answer

True. He was driven by abolitionist zeal, mapping Africa to open it to commerce and Christianity, believing that would end the slave trade.

Question 2

True or false: Livingstone disappeared for years, and a newspaper sent Henry Morton Stanley to find him in 1871.

Accepted Answer

True. The New York Herald funded Stanley's expedition after Livingstone lost contact with the outside world for years during his exploration.

Question 3

True or false: David Livingstone was the first European to see Victoria Falls, which he named after Queen Victoria.

Accepted Answer

True. Livingstone was the first European to see the falls in 1855, naming them for the queen, though local Kololo people called them Mosi-oa-Tunya.

Question 4

True or false: The famous quote 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?' was spoken by a fellow explorer who saved his life.

Accepted Answer

False. Henry Morton Stanley said it upon finding Livingstone in 1871, but Livingstone was not in immediate danger, and Stanley didn't save him.

Question 5

True or false: Livingstone believed the source of the Nile was in the Lake Tanganyika region, which turned out to be correct.

Accepted Answer

False. He wrongly thought Lake Tanganyika fed the Nile. The true source (Lake Victoria) was later proven by Speke and others.

Question 6

True or false: Livingstone was a medical doctor who performed the first successful surgery in Central Africa.

Accepted Answer

False. He was a missionary and explorer with medical training, but no records show he performed the first successful surgery in that region.

Question 7

True or false: Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey, but his heart was buried in Africa under a Mvula tree.

Accepted Answer

True. His African companions removed his heart and buried it in Chitambo (Zambia) as a tribute; his body was sent to England for a hero's burial.

Question 8

True or false: David Livingstone was the first person to cross the African continent from coast to coast.

Accepted Answer

False. Portuguese explorers crossed Africa earlier. Livingstone did complete several massive transcontinental journeys, but he wasn't the first.

David Livingstone Trivia Questions