Born in Truro in 1804 with a strong ambition to travel, explorer Richard Lander, the son of an innkeeper, had his first trip to Africa at the age of 19 when he visited the River Niger.

Visitors to the Royal Cornwall Museum over the next few months will be able to take their own voyage of exploration, digging into artefacts and hearing extracts from Lander's own account of his travels.

Five years after his first visit, Lander went on a government expedition to discover the mouth of the Niger, and with his brother John he travelled hundreds of miles along it in a small canoe.

Lander took two travelling medicine chests on this journey, one of which is now on display at the Royal Cornwall Museum. Visitors can now examine the medicine chest, and discover which medicines were most needed by this intrepid traveller, all whilst listening to excerpts from Lander’s journal.

Tracing the course of the Niger opened up valuable trade links between West Africa and the rest of the world: trade links which still result in economic benefit today.

Ian Wall, director of the Royal Cornwall Museum, said: “Richard Lander left his mark on Africa when he named Truro Island in the Niger River. He also gave a hill on the river bank the name of Cornwall Mountain. He is one of county’s best known sons and we are privileged to be able to tell his story and show his life-saving medicine chest to visitors.”

The Medicine Man - A Spotlight on Richard Lander, will be at the Royal Cornwall Museum from March to September 2017.