Explorer, author, dramatist, sculptor, lecturer, publisher, and doctor. Thus may be summed up the versatility of Mrs. French Sheldon, the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.- Born in 1847, in New York, this enterprising lady made a voyage round the world when she was sixteen. Possessed of great wealth, she was able to choose her own life, and, after two more voyages round the world, she decided to specialise in African exploration. She studied medicine and geology, became a licensed doctor, and otherwise qualified herself for the task of traversing the interior of Africa. Her book, " A White Woman Alone in Savage Africa," describes her thrilling experiences among Congo cannibals. She undertook two expeditions - one in 1892, and the other in 1904, going beyond the Stanley Falls unaccompanied by any other white person. For many years she owned and conducted a publishing house with success, and found time to write many books and translate others', amongst the latter being "Salammbo." It was an edition de luxe of her translation of his work which the French Government placed in Flaubert's tomb at Rouen. She has lectured all over the United States and Europe.

Mrs. French Sheldon Ernest H. Mills Copyright