121 years ago today, on May 9, 1904 (March 24, 1904 in the lunar calendar), African continent explorer Henry Stanley passed away. Sir Henry Morton Stanley May 9, 1904. Sir Henry Stanley, African adventurer, adventurer and journalist, passed away today in London at the age of 63. Perhaps Stanley's deepest memory is the story of his search for the missing David Livingston in Central Africa 35 years ago. After eight months of arduous trek, Stanley finally found the explorer in the Lake Tanganyika area who was too sick to move. Stanley greeted the explorer as if nothing had happened at that time and said,"I think you are Livingston." But Stanley could not persuade Lieston to return to Europe, so he decided to stay in Central Africa and join him on the expedition. In a later expedition, he was attacked many times by cannibals, but survived. He discovered several sources of the Nile River and inspected the Congo River, which flows through most of Central Africa. Stanley also helped establish the Free State of Congo under King Leopold of Belgium. After returning to England, he was elected to Parliament in 1895 and knighted in 1899.