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The
Memorial to William Balfour Baikie - SMC014
William
Balfour Baikie was born in Kirkwall in 1825 and died in Sierra
Leone in 1864. He made his name as an explorer and a memorial
to him is housed in the eastern end of the north choir.
In 1854 he took part in the first expedition to explore the
River Niger in West Africa. During the expedition he took
command after the original leader died. He led the second
expedition to Niger in 1857 and was stranded for two years
when supplies failed to reach him.
Despite often suffering from bouts of fever, Baikie continued
to survey and map new territory. He studied local languages
and translated parts of the Bible, including the Psalms, into
Arabic
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