64. Burn, Baby, Burn

John Hanning Speke is a famous British explorer who contributed to the colonization of Africa and India. Today, he is mostly remembered for trying to find the source of the Nile River and exploring the African Great Lakes. He is credited as the first European to reach Lake Victoria (known as Nam Lolwe in Dholuo) which is Africa’s largest lake. 

In addition to these colonial achievements, John Hanning Speke is known for something else that might surprise you. Speke had syphilis for a majority of his life. There was no cure for this STI in the 1800s, which could be quite debilitating for those afflicted. The story goes that Speke contracted a fever that was so high it burned all the syphilis bacteria in his body, curing him of the infection. We have no idea if this is true, but if it is, that’s one high fever.