William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies

William John Burchell, English Explorer, naturalist, traveller, artist, and author was born in 1792. The son of a wealthy nurseryman. Burchell travelled nearly 7 000 km throughout South Africa between 1810 and 1815, collecting specimens of animals and plants. He described his journey in a book titled Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa. His collection contains the most extensive examples of African fauna and flora. Burchell's travels, however, exhausted his fortune, and he became quite isolated and disillusioned. On 23 March 1863, he ended his own life in London. Burchell is remembered through a genus of plants named after him as well as a number of animal species.

How we know this

01O.U.M.N.H, William Burchell, from Oxford University Museum of Natural History, [online], Available at oum.ox.ac.uk [Accessed: 15 March 2010]
02Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011019

South African History Online (2011) 'William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

South African History Online, William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011019, (accessed 12 October 2026).

"William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "William J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011019.