David Livingstone - Family Life

Family Life

While Livingstone had a great impact on British Imperialism, he did so at a tremendous cost to his family. In his absences, his children grew up missing their father, and his wife Mary (daughter of Mary and Robert Moffat) endured very poor health, and died of malaria trying to follow him in Africa. He had six children: Robert reportedly died in the American Civil War; Agnes (b.1847), Thomas, Elizabeth (who died two months after her birth), William Oswell (nicknamed Zouga because of the river along which he was born, in 1851) and Anna Mary (b.1858). Only Agnes, William Oswell and Anna Mary married and had children.

His one regret in later life was that he did not spend enough time with his children, whom he loved immensely.

Read more about this topic:  David Livingstone

Famous quotes containing the words family life, family and/or life:

    Anytime we react to behavior in our children that we dislike in ourselves, we need to proceed with extreme caution. The dynamics of everyday family life also have a way of repeating themselves.
    Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)

    Babies control and bring up their families as much as they are controlled by them; in fact ... the family brings up baby by being brought up by him.
    Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)

    Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present.
    Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)