Henry Stanley was a Anglo-American journalist and explorer who played a significant role in the exploration and colonization of central Africa. He is most famous for his search for the missionary and explorer David Livingstone, upon finding whom he reportedly asked "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" As an explorer, Stanley was involved in an extensive search for the source of the Nile and played a commanding role in the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. Born out of wedlock in Wales, Stanley had a difficult childhood marked by abuse and neglect. As a teenager, he fled to the US and his fortunes took a turn for the better. An intelligent and adventurous young man, he became a journalist and was sent to Africa by his employer to search for Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone who was known to be in Africa but had not been heard from for some time. Stanley finally found Livingstone after a dangerous expedition and gained a favorable reputation following this incident. He went on several other expeditions in the following years, exploring vast areas of central Africa and travelling down the length of the Lualaba and Congo Rivers. He was undoubtedly a great explorer but he was also believed to be an extremely cruel man who inflicted unspeakable tortures on the African natives during his expeditions.