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Imogen Lepere

Author of The Ethical Traveller, travel journalist Imogen Lepere is particularly interested in how globetrotting can be a tool for sustainable development. She currently divides her time between London and Mexico. Read more of her work on her website, www.imogenleperewriter.com 
A hand colored portrait of Nellie Bly, circa 1890

Nellie Bly Experiences It All

One of the first female investigative reporters, Nellie Bly shone a light on the plight of American women by facing the world head on.
A statue of Zheng He in Jurong Gardens, Singapore

Zheng He, the Great Eunuch Admiral

Captured, castrated, and forced to serve the Hongwu Emperor, Zeng He subsequently led a massive Ming fleet of treasure ships across an ever-expanding empire.
Beryl Markham

Beryl Markham, Warrior of the Skies

The first person to fly solo, non-stop from Europe to North America, Markham lived life by her own rules.
Mbarak Mombée

Mbarak Mombée: An African Explorer Robbed of His Name

Kidnapped and sold into slavery, Mbarak Mombée was critical to the success of the most celebrated nineteenth-century European expeditions in Africa.
James Holman by Maull & Polyblank, c. 1855

James Holman, the “Blind Traveller”

Once a celebrated travel writer, Holman struggled to find a publisher for his books thanks to a Victorian reluctance to witness his disability.
Ada Blackjack

Ada Blackjack’s Secret Weapon

Memories of her son helped Blackjack to become the sole survivor of an ill-fated expedition to Wrangel Island.
Cyclist and writer Dervla Murphy in Barcelona in 1956

Dervla Murphy: The Godmother of Hitting the Road

Perhaps the greatest female travel writer of her generation, Murphy defied the narrative of the dutiful Irish daughter—and motherhood—to find freedom.
Matthew Alexander Henson, 1910

The First Black American to Reach the North Pole

Matthew Henson partnered with Robert Peary on seven Arctic adventures, but their final success brought an end to a longstanding collaboration.
Lady Florence Baker

Florence Baker, Unsung Survivor

Narrowly escaping slavery herself, Baker risked her life to repress the Saharan slave trade, sought the source of the Nile, and challenged Victorian social conventions.
Elizabeth Kapuʻuwailani Lindsey with her mentor, navigator-priest Pius "Mau" Piailug. Photo by Nick Kato

Pius “Mau” Piailug: Master Navigator of Micronesia

Mau used traditional skills to guide a canoe from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti, sharing his navigational knowledge with others to keep the wayfinding traditions alive.
Tenzing Norgay

Tenzing Norgay: The Mountaineer Who Refused to be Categorized

By remaining vague about his own biography, Norgay called into question the idea of nationhood and made a deafening point about actions speaking louder than words.
Isabelle Eberhardt, 1895

Isabelle Eberhardt: Travel’s Rebel with a Cause

A hash-smoking, cross-dressing woman traveling the Sahara in the early 1900s, Eberhardt unpicked the fabric of society just by being herself.