Richard Lemon Lander (1804-1834) made three trips to West Africa; he and his brother John were the first Europeans to follow the course of the Niger River to its delta.


Richard & John Lander were two brothers born in the Fighting Cocks Inn (later called The Dolphin Inn) in Truro in 1804 and 1807 who both grew up to become explorers.
Richard Lander appears to have had a colourful life. He walked to London at the age of nine. And when he was eleven, sailed on a merchant ship to the West Indies returning to England in 1818. He then lived as a servant in the homes of various wealthy families. In 1823 he went to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and returned in 1824.
He accompanied Lieut. H. Clapperton to West Africa in 1825. The purpose of the Clapperton expedition (1825-1828) was to travel down the Niger River. Clapperton and Lander's European companions all died early in the trip. Clapperton also eventually died on April 18, 1827. African tribesmen accused Lander of witchcraft, and forced him to drink poison. Since he survived, they determined that Lander was not a witch, and Lander eventually returned to England (in July 1828). In England, Lander published "Journal of Richard Lander from Kano to the Sea Coast" (1829) and "Records of Captain Clapperton's Last Expedition to Africa, with the Subsequent Adventures of the Author" (1830).
Next the British government sent Richard Lander and his brother, John, to explore more of the lower Niger River in 1830, and they were able to prove that the Niger flows through many mouths into the Bight of Benin. They found the source, route and mouths of the Niger River, that up to then had been unmapped. They published their results in a "Journal of an Expedition to Explore the Course and Termination of the Niger" published in 1832.
Richard Lander died on his third West African trip (1833-1834). He was badly wounded on the Niger River by African tribesmen. He died at Fernando Po on Feb. 6, 1834. Richard was called by the Africans "Nasarah Curramaee", meaning "Little Christian". He named an island in the Niger River, Truro, and a hill on its bank, Cornwall Mountain.
He was awarded the first gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1832.
A statue of Richard Lander stands on a tall column at the top of Lemon Street in Truro sculpted by Neville Northey Burnard born in 1818 in Altarnun.
Two descendants of Richard Lander joined an expedition to retrace his historic journey down an African river.
Lander Brothers Anchorage, Asaba Delta State
In 2004, the Lander brothers marked 200 years of the death of the patriarch of their family, as part of the activities to celebrate the epoch. An expedition trip was organized to follow the same route that Richard Lander took. Richard Lander’s trip took off from Bussa where he presented a medal to the king of Bussa and in return he got the boat he needed to embark on his expedition.
After the trip, the team decided to donate the boat to the Asaba people. A museum was later built in memory of Richard Lander. The museum chronicles the voyage and activities of Lander. The boat formed the fulcrum of artifact museum


The museum is located off the busy Nnebisi Road beside the colonial grave yard. In front of the museum is the imposing sculpted work anchorage. The Richard Lander Museum is appeal is the huge information on display, not just about the Richard Lander, but an insight into the complexion of the area in the 19 century when Europeans became unsatisfied with trading at the coast and became interested in hinterland. These are mostly in form of pictures and text materials.
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The six members of the Lander expedition trip made thier way from Bussa to Asaba just like their forebear. The boat used for the trip was called Goo-will. The team decided to donate the boat to the people of Asaba. This boat and other artifacts that have to do with the expedition and Europeans’ contacts with the people of Asaba are the artifacts one sees, while visiting the Richard Lander Museum.
It was built in memory of the Lander Brothers-Richard and John who anchored at about that spot of the River Niger during the expedition that they took over from Mungo Park. The erected anchorage is, however, not the original one but a replica; the original one is at Aboh. The Lander Brothers are credited with the discovery of the mouth of the River Niger.
This led to the opening of the West African trade which eventually replaced slave trade. The anchorage has an information centre and a restaurant.

SOURCE: https://wakanda.ng/post/richard-amp-john-lander-explorers-who-prove-the-niger-rivers-flows-in-the-bight-of-benin