Kent, and Frances, daughter of Francis Sapte of Cadicote Lodge, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, was born at Radipole, Weymouth, on 1 July 1844, and educated at Bourton in Somerset. He joined the navy in August 1857, and was placed on the Illustrious training ship, whence he was transferred to the Victor Emmanuel, and spent nearly four years in the Mediterranean and on the Syrian coast. He became a midshipman in June 1860. He was sent to the North American station on the Liffey at the end of 1861, and in the following year was at New Orleans when it was captured by the federals. From 1862 to 1864 he was in the Channel squadron, becoming sub-lieutenant in August 1863; promoted lieutenant in October 1860, he was sent to the East Indies in the Star. He was on the coast of East Africa in 1867, and saw service in the Abyssinian campaign of 1868, where he earned a medal. He was afterwards employed in the suppression of the slave trade in East Africa, and his experiences made a deep impression on him. About 1870 he was put on the steam reserve at Sheerness.
As soon as Cameron found himself in so quiet a berth as Sheerness, he volunteered to the Royal Geographical Society to go in search of Livingstone, attracted by a project which was then in many men's minds; but it was not till 1872, after some disappointments, that he was selected as leader of the expedition sent out by the society to carry aid to Livingstone, who had been discovered by Stanley in the previous year (vide Introduction to Across Africa). The object of his journey was to find Livingstone, who was known to have been bound for the south end of Bangweolo when Stanley left him, and afterwards to take an independent line of geographical exploration, with the aid of Livingstone's advice.
Cameron started on his task early in 1873, leaving England in company with Sir Bartle Frere [q.v.], who was on a mission to Zanzibar. Dr. W. E. Dillon accompanied the explorer, and Lieutenant Cecil Murphy volunteered at Aden to join the expedition. Arriving at Zanzibar in February 1873, they found the task of getting together the necessary carriers unusually difficult. At last they had to push on with an incomplete convoy to Rahenneko, and wait there for Murphy. On Murphy's arrival, further troubles and delays arose before a real start may be considered to have been made. By Mpwapwa, Ugogo,the Mgunda Mkali, and Unyanyembe, they went forward without much incident. At the latter place all three members of the expedition were down with severe fever, and many carriers were tempted to desert. At this stage the news of Livingstone's death was brought to Cameron, and altered all his plans. Dillon and Murphy started to return to the coast with Livingstone's body, and Cameron decided to proceed alone; but very shortly after their start Cameron heard of Dillon's death, and this caused another delay. When he at last got oft" he encountered a series of annoyances and hardships which were only checked on arrival at the Malagarazi. The next point of importance was Lake Tanganyika, a great part of which was still unexplored. Cameron spent a considerable time in determining the proper position of the southern portion of the lake, and, when he had finished, despatched his own servant with Livingstone's papers from Ujiji and his own journals to the coast, gave to those who wished to return the option of doing so, and then proceeded westward with sixty-two or sixty-three men for Nyangwe, which he determined to be on the main stream of the Congo. Here he endeavoured to obtain canoes, with the idea of following the great river; but failing in this, and meeting Tippoo Tib, he was induced to strike southward, where he met with much suspicion from natives who had been raided by slave dealers. His success in avoiding collisions and loss of life was remarkable. At Kasongo he fell in with an Arab who treated him with much kindness, and with a slave dealer from Bibé, in whose company he finally struck westward again along the watershed between the Congo and Zambesi, discovering the sources of the latter. After considerable sufferings from thirst and much worry, owing to the enforced company of slavers, he reached Bibé early in October 1875. He was now 240 miles from the west coast, and the journey seemed almost over; yet the greatest hardships fell upon his party at this point, and finally he had to push on by forced marches of 160 miles in four days to save his own life and send back relief for his men. He arrived at Katombela on 28 Nov. 1875, being thus the first traveller to cross the breadth of Africa from sea to sea.
On his return to England Cameron was naturally received with much acclamation; he was promoted specially to be a commander in July 1876, and was made a C.B.; he was also awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society, and created hon. D.C.L. of Oxford on 21 June. In September of this year he attended the Brussels conference on Africa.
After returning for a time to his professional duties, and among other things taking courses of gunnery and torpedo practice,
