Émile Gentil
governor of the French Congo
Émile Gentil (born April 4, 1866, Volmunster, France—died March 30, 1914, Bordeaux) was a French colonial administrator who explored the areas of the present Congo (Brazzaville), Central African Republic, and Chad and helped establish French rule in equatorial Africa. A naval officer, Gentil led an expedition from the French Congo down the Chari (Shari) River to Lake Chad in 1895–97, establishing a French protectorate over the sultanate of Bagirmi. In 1900 he was made governor...