Updated
Many famous names are linked to Uganda: Olympic champions such as John Akii-Bua, Stephen Kiprotich and Joshua Cheptegei; explorers such as John Hanning Speke, Samuel and Florence Baker and Henry Morton Stanley; and conservationists, from Dian Fossey, whose work shaped mountain gorilla protection across the Virungas, to Ugandan vet Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka. Here is who they are and why they matter to visitors.
Olympic champions
John Akii-Bua won Uganda’s first Olympic gold in the 400 m hurdles at Munich in 1972, in a world record time. Stephen Kiprotich won the marathon at London 2012. At Tokyo 2020, held in 2021, Joshua Cheptegei won the 10,000 m and Peruth Chemutai the 3,000 m steeplechase, making her Uganda’s first female Olympic champion. Many of Uganda’s distance runners train at altitude around Kapchorwa on Mount Elgon. See our guide to sport in Uganda.
Explorers
John Hanning Speke reached the point where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria at Jinja in 1862 and declared it the river’s source. Samuel Baker and Florence Baker reached Lake Albert in 1864 and named Murchison Falls. Henry Morton Stanley visited Buganda in 1875 and later reported the Rwenzori Mountains. Their journeys put Uganda on European maps, with lasting consequences. Read about the source of the Nile and Stanley in Uganda.
Conservationists
Dian Fossey studied mountain gorillas at Karisoke in Rwanda from 1967 until her murder in 1985, and her campaigning against poaching shaped protection across the Virunga volcanoes, which include Uganda’s Mgahinga. Sir David Attenborough’s 1979 encounter with gorillas in Life on Earth brought them to a global television audience. In Uganda, Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, the country’s first wildlife vet, founded Conservation Through Public Health and was named a UN Champion of the Earth in 2021. See our guide to Dian Fossey.
Why it matters for visitors
You can visit places tied to these stories on a gorilla trip: the Nile at Jinja, Murchison Falls, Lake Albert and the Virunga volcanoes at Mgahinga, and runners training at altitude on Mount Elgon. The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November. Read about Attenborough and the gorillas.
Frequently asked questions
John Akii-Bua, in the 400 m hurdles at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
John Hanning Speke identified the Lake Victoria outlet at Jinja in 1862.
Her research base was in Rwanda, but her work influenced gorilla protection across the Virungas, including Uganda.
Uganda’s first wildlife vet and founder of Conservation Through Public Health.
