William Cotton Oswell

Who was William Cotton Oswell?

William Cotton Oswell was an English explorer in Africa and other areas.

He was born in Leytonstone, Essex and attended Rugby School. In 1837 he secured a position with the East India Company in Madras through his uncle John Cotton, who was a director of the company. He spent ten years there, learning Tamil and other languages and studying surgery and medicine.

He was sent to South Africa for health reasons, and explored the Kalahari desert in Bechuanaland and located Lake Ngami. He participated in expeditions to the Zambezi river with David Livingstone; one of Livingstone's children, born in Botswana in 1851, was named William Oswell Livingstone. He returned to England in 1853 and performed medical duties during the Crimean War. In 1855–56 he traveled in North and South America. In 1860, he married his wife Agnes, settled in Groombridge, Kent, and had five children.

The species Rhinoceros oswellii was named for him. Livingstone described Oswell as having had lucky escapes, having been tossed by a rhinoceros on two occasions.