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Florence Barbara Maria (née von Sass), Lady Baker

(1841-1916), Traveller in Africa; second wife of Sir Samuel White Baker

Sitter in 5 portraits
Born Florence Barbara Maria Finnin von Sass, possibly in Romania, her Eastern European parents were killed when she was seven. At seventeen she was about to be sold in an Ottoman slave market in Hungary when an English widower, Sam Baker, rescued her. Together they travelled to Africa in 1861, searching for the source of the River Nile. The Bakers reached Luta N'Zige, the secondary source of the Nile, which they called Lake Albert . In 1865 they made a journey to Britain to marry. Queen Victoria would never accept Florence at court, although Sam received a knighthood. Their second African journey from 1870-3 reported on the Nile slave trade. Returning to Britain, Florence outlived Sam by twenty-three years.

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Florence Barbara Maria (née von Sass), Lady Baker

by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen carte-de-visite, mid-late 1860s
NPG x46615

Florence Barbara Maria (née von Sass), Lady Baker

by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen carte-de-visite, mid-late 1860s
NPG x135646

Florence Barbara Maria (née von Sass), Lady Baker

by Maull & Co
albumen carte-de-visite, 1865-1869
NPG x196980

Florence Barbara Maria (née von Sass), Lady Baker

by Maull & Co
albumen print, 1865-1869
NPG Ax27707

Florence Barbara Maria (née von Sass), Lady Baker

by Maull & Co
albumen carte-de-visite, 1865-1869
NPG x46693

Related People

Sir Samuel White Baker (husband)

Groups

Explorers, Travellers and Adventurers

Places

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Florence Barbara Maria (née von Sass), Lady Baker