Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890) was one of the Society’s most famous and adventurous members.

Burton joined the Bombay Infantry of the East India Company in 1842. This was the start of his explorations and detailed recording of all that he saw. Burton was a very able linguist passing out top in the Company examinations but he was also interested in geography and ethnography including dialects and customs As part of the Survey Company, Burton made detailed topographical, ethnographic and linguistic notes resulting in the publication of his 1851 book on the history of Sindh.

His life was full of travel and writing including travelling to Mecca and Medina in 1852, disguised as a Muslim, and an expedition to attempt to find the source of the Nile under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society of which he was a member. He was a prolific writer and his travels provided him with material for many books. He was also a keen translator including translating The Arabian Nights stories and the poems of the Portuguese poet, Cameons.