Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) was a renowned British explorer, linguist, writer and diplomat. He could speak 29 languages and was one of the first Westerners to visit the Great Lakes region of Africa and Mecca. Some of his major accomplishments included translating works like One Thousand and One Nights and the Kama Sutra. He explored widely in Africa and South America, seeking to find the source of the Nile River and document unvisited places and cultures. Burton lived a adventurous life full of accomplishments but also controversy due to his immersive approaches to foreign cultures.