Born: 1808 - Greenock, Scotland
Died: 9 January 1861 - London, England
Laird's company built the Alburkah, a 55-ton paddle-wheeler which was the first iron vessel to make an oceanic crossing - it was used to explore the Niger delta. The Niger expedition in 1832 traveled almost 900 km upstream, but at great cost. All but nine of the 48 European members of the expedition died, Laird never truly recovered from the difficult trip.
Laird championed a second expedition to the river Niger in 1854, led by William Balfour Baikie, which traveled 400 km up the Benue. Due to the provision of quinine no lives were lost to malaria and the expedition signaled a rush of exploration by Europeans in the region.
Laird's transatlantic steamship, the Sirius, was the first to cross from Europe to the US under steam power alone.
