Richard Francis Burton

Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, geographer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa and the Americas, including an incognito journey to Mecca at a time when Europeans were forbidden access on pain of death, and a journey with John Hanning Speke to the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile.

Richard Francis Burton in "One Touch of Hippolyta"
Richard Burton once came to blows with Hiram Rowbotham-Finch over the provenance of a Burgundian axe-head, resulting in the disgraced Finch leaving Britain and settling in Graustarkton, Massachusetts.