Dr John Hemming is a British-raised Canadian explorer and author, specialising in the study of the indigenous peoples of Amazonia - particularly Brazilian indians - as well as the ancient Incas and Peruvian archaeology. He has written and contributed to over 120 publications, and won multiple awards for his work over the years.
Born in Vancouver, Hemming was educated in the United Kingdom at Eton College and read History at Magdalen College, Oxford. One of his first expeditions to South America in 1961 - as part of a team sent to investigate the unexplored Iriri River country in central Brazil - ended in disaster, when the party was ambushed by indians, and Hemming's friend and fellow Oxford graduate Richard Mason became the last Englishman ever to be killed by an uncontacted tribe.
It only led to a heightened interest in Brazilian tribes for Hemming, however, and he mounted multiple repeat expeditions to the region, encountering and interacting with many long-lost tribes, and penning - over a 26 year period - a three-volume history of the indigenous peoples of Amazonia: Red Gold in 1978, Amazon Frontier in 1985 and Die If You Must in 2004.
Count László Almásy was a Hungarian artistocrat, pilot, motorist, soldier, Sahara explorer and all round adventuring type who made a number of important archaeological discoveries in the Egyptian desert during his various intrepid escapades. He is also the main protagonist in Michael Ondaatje's 1992 novel The English Patient and the 1996 movie based upon it.
Almásy - who came from a wealthy, noble Austro-Hungarian family - made his most famous and important finds in 1932 during an expedition by car and plane from Egypt to the Sudan along the Nile. They included the legendary Zerzura, "The Oasis of the Birds," and various prehistoric rock art sites such as the Cave of Swimmers in Gilf Kebir. Egyptians are quick to point out however that he didn't exactly "find" the caves - local bedouins knew they were there; he just became the first to map, enter and draw each of them.
During WWII, Almásy's role was unclear: he played both sides, receiving the Iron Cross from Rommell, but was not a Nazi and aided the escape of many Jews from Nazi persecution. After the war, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Soviets, but later escaped to the west with help from British Intelligence services. He died of dysentery in Salzburg, Austria in 1951.
There are currently two* 'explorer robots' active in Egypt: the Japanese robot researching the Osiris Shaft - it got as far as it could though, and a 'snake robot' might be needed to explore further - and the Leeds robot taking a more thorough look at the shafts in the the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Although the 'Leeds robot' just began the actual investigation of the secret doors last week, Dr. Hawass revealed at his lecture that on the 31th of July the Leeds team already had a major breakthrough. But that was all information Dr. Zahi was willing to share (except that they'll be taking a look at the other shafts also). No hint at what kind of 'major breakthrough' this could be, nor did he share any photographs, video or even just 3D sketches of the robot.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 18:18
Austen Henry Layard (5th March 1817 – 5th July 1894) was one of Victorian Britain’s greatest and most dramatic explorers, finding enough time in his life to work as an archaeologist, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, author, diplomat and politician. He made some of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries of the era – including the excavation of the famous ancient Assyrian cities Nimrud and Nineveh. He would later become a celebrated author, as he chronicled his many travels in a popular book. Yet he would face criticism for the way he appropriated so many of Mesopotamia’s shining treasures for his home nation – censure which has gathered pace with the growing issue of repatriation. Still, Layard’s life makes for fascinating reading, and not a moment went by without his dedicating it to discovery and adventure.
There are currently two* 'explorer robots' active in Egypt: the Japanese robot 
