Delia Akeley
Delia Akeley was either born in 1875 or 1869, she was the youngest of 9 kids. At the age of 14, Delia ran away from home and married to an older man. However then divorced him in 1902 when she was only 27. By the end of 1902, the same year Delia was divorced, she remarried a man named Carl Akeley. Although Carl and Delia's marriage ended in 1923. Before Carl and Delia's divorce, the two went on two expeditions to Africa. Carl was a taxidermist who worked for the Smithsonian, he was the one who inspired Delia to explore.
Carl and Delia traveled Africa in search of elephants for the exhibit in the Smithsonian. This trip lasted from 1905-1907. During this first expedition, Delia fell in love with an African monkey, whom she named J. T. Jr. J. T. Jr. inspired Delia to write a book about primates entitled J. T. Jr. The couple joined Roosevelt's expedition for animals in 1909 and then left the expedition in 1911, the trip was again to find animals for the Smithsonian. In 1924 the now single Delia lead an expedition for the Brooklyn Museum all over Africa, she became the first female explorer to travel Africa from coast to coast. In 1929 Delia returned to east Africa to study the pygmy tribes. Delia studied much of east Africa including the Tana River.
When Delia started exploring she was doing it as a “wifely duty”, but as time went on Delia discovered a passion for exploring. Delia was also the first westerner to be able to explore the Pygmy tribe, she credits her acceptance from the tribe to the fact that she was a woman. After Delia returned home she wrote many books and papers about her travels. These works inspired many people, mainly women, to go out and explore. Delia sadly died on May 22, 1970, after remarrying again, and although she is gone her legacy lives on in many female explorers.