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How did David Livingstoneās African servants preserve and carry his body after his death?
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David Livingstone
Portrait of Scottish missionary. physician, and explorer David Livingstone, albumen silver print by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, c. 1857; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
After David Livingstone died in May 1873 at Chitambo, his African servants demonstrated profound devotion by ensuring his remains were returned to his homeland. To preserve his body for the long journey, they removed his heart and viscera, which they buried in African soil.1
Following this embalming process, they undertook a grueling nine-month trek to transport his body to the coast. His remains were subsequently taken to England, where he was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey on April 18, 1874, in a significant Victorian funeral.1