Frederick Courteney Selous, traveller, hunter, writer and naturalist dies in Beho-Beho, Tanganyika. He came to Southern Africa

Date: 4 Jan 1917
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Frederick Courteney Selous, traveller, hunter, writer and naturalist dies in Beho-Beho, Tanganyika. He came to Southern Africa

British explorer, officer, hunter, and conservationist Frederick Courtney Selous came to South Africa at the age of nineteen in 1871. Inspired by the writings of explorers such as Dr. David Livingstone and William Charles Baldwin, Selous wanted to explore the continent of Africa. He travelled from the Cape of Good Hope to the Transvaal and south of the Congo basin. The village of Selous in Rhodesia is named after him. On 4 January 1917 Selous was shot in the head during a bush was agaisnt German, Schutztruppen. He died instantly. He is regarded as one of the greatest hunters over the region of Southern Africa.

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How we know this

01Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 9, p. 579
02Britannica, Frederick Courteney Selous, from Britannica, [online], Available at www.britannica.com [Accessed: 18 November 2013]
03Collins, S.T., (1989), Mighty Nimrod: A Life of Frederick Courteney Selous, African Hunter and Adventurer 1851-1917, from Rhodesia.nl, [online], Available at www.rhodesia.nl [Accessed: 28 November 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, December 14). Frederick Courteney Selous, traveller, hunter, writer and naturalist dies in Beho-Beho, Tanganyika. He came to Southern Africa. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0071583

South African History Online (2011) 'Frederick Courteney Selous, traveller, hunter, writer and naturalist dies in Beho-Beho, Tanganyika. He came to Southern Africa', South African History Online, 14 December. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0071583 (Accessed: 22 July 2026).

South African History Online, Frederick Courteney Selous, traveller, hunter, writer and naturalist dies in Beho-Beho, Tanganyika. He came to Southern Africa [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0071583, (accessed 22 July 2026).

"Frederick Courteney Selous, traveller, hunter, writer and naturalist dies in Beho-Beho, Tanganyika. He came to Southern Africa." South African History Online, 14 Dec. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0071583. Accessed 22 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Frederick Courteney Selous, traveller, hunter, writer and naturalist dies in Beho-Beho, Tanganyika. He came to Southern Africa." South African History Online. December 14, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0071583.