Percy Fawcett
British explorer who vanished seeking a lost Amazonian city.
Percy Harrison Fawcett (18 August 1867 – disappeared 29 May 1925) was a British explorer, geographer, artillery officer, surveyor, and archaeologist who worked extensively in South America. He vanished in 1925 during an expedition to find a legendary lost city in the Amazon rainforest, accompanied by his eldest son Jack and Jack’s friend Raleigh Rimmel.
Fawcett was born in Torquay, Devon, to Edward Boyd Fawcett and Myra Elizabeth MacDougall. His family, old Yorkshire gentry from Scaleby Castle, had made their fortune as shipping magnates in the East Indies. His father, born in India, was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and his older brother Edward Douglas Fawcett was a mountaineer, occultist, and writer of philosophy and adventure novels. Fawcett attended Newton Abbot Proprietary College alongside Bertram Fletcher Robinson, later a sportsman and writer who knew Arthur Conan Doyle. He then trained at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, becoming a Royal Artillery lieutenant in 1886. That year he met Nina Agnes Paterson; they married in 1901 and had two sons, Jack (1903–1925?) and Brian (1906–1984), and a daughter, Joan (1910–2005). He served as adjutant of the 1st Cornwall Artillery Volunteers in 1896, was promoted to captain in 1897, and later served in Hong Kong, Malta, and Ceylon.
Fawcett joined the Royal Geographical Society in 1901 to study surveying and mapmaking. He also worked for the British Secret Service in North Africa. From 1903 to 1906 he served at Spike Island, County Cork, and was promoted to major in 1905. He befriended authors Arthur Conan Doyle and Henry Rider Haggard; Doyle used Fawcett’s Amazon reports as inspiration for *The Lost World*.
His first South American expedition came in 1906, when the RGS sent him to map a jungle area on the Brazil-Bolivia border. In 1907 he claimed to have shot a 62-foot giant anaconda, a statement scientists ridiculed. He also reported a small cat-like dog the size of a foxhound, seen twice, and a giant spider called the Apazauca that supposedly poisoned locals. The giant peanuts he found in Mato Grosso were likely *Arachis nambyquarae*, with legumes up to 9 cm long. Between 1906 and 1924 he made seven expeditions, generally getting along with indigenous peoples through gifts and patience. In 1908 he traced the Rio Verde’s source, and in 1910 he explored the Heath River’s source after retirin
- born
- 18 August 1867, Torquay, Devon
- died
- Disappeared 29 May 1925, Amazon rainforest
- field
- Geography, cartography, archaeology, exploration
- nationality
- British
- known_for
- Disappearance during expedition to find lost city 'Z'
Lore & Background
Percy Fawcett was born into a family of Yorkshire gentry and educated at Newton Abbot Proprietary College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1886 and later served in Hong Kong, Malta, and Ceylon. He joined the Royal Geographical Society in 1901 and worked for the British Secret Service in North Africa while learning surveying. Fawcett married Nina Agnes Paterson in 1901; they had two sons, Jack and Brian, and a daughter, Joan.
Fawcett's first South American expedition in 1906 was for the RGS to map jungle bordering Bolivia. Over seven expeditions between 1906 and 1924, he claimed to have seen a 62-foot giant anaconda, a small cat-like dog, and the giant Apazauca spider. He traced the source of the Rio Verde in 1908 and the Heath River in 1910. By 1914, based on documentary research including Manuscript 512, he theorized a lost city 'Z' existed in the Mato Grosso. He carried a jade statue he claimed had supernatural power over indigenous tribes.
During World War I, Fawcett served in Flanders as a counter-battery colonel, using a ouija board to detect targets. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and received three mentions in despatches and the Distinguished Service Order. After the war, he returned to Brazil. In 1924, he set out with his son Jack and Jack's friend Raleigh Rimmel to find 'Z'. Their last communication was on 29 May 1925 from Dead Horse Camp. The RGS declared them lost in January 1927.
Reader's Guide
Percy Fawcett's significance lies in his extensive exploration and mapping of previously uncharted regions of the Amazon, which contributed to geographical knowledge of South America. His disappearance became one of the great mysteries of exploration, sparking numerous rescue attempts and enduring public fascination. The lost city 'Z' he sought inspired fictional works, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World', based on Fawcett's field reports. Fawcett's legacy is also marked by controversy: his claims of giant anacondas and other unknown animals were met with scientific skepticism, and the circumstances of his death remain unresolved, with various accounts from indigenous peoples suggesting he and his companions may have been killed, died of fever, or starved. His instructions that no rescue expedition be sent were largely ignored, and at least one searcher died in the attempt. The mystery of his fate continues to captivate historians and explorers.
Did You Know?
- Fawcett claimed to have shot a 62-foot giant anaconda in 1907, a claim ridiculed by scientists.
- He used a ouija board to detect enemy artillery targets during World War I.
- His final letter, written from Dead Horse Camp on 29 May 1925, was delivered by a native runner.
- A Kalapalo chief named Comatzi later provided bones that were not those of Fawcett.
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