Historedia
Episode 1 of 3

First Lion Shot

When
9 December 1898
Where
Tsavo River bridge site
Part of
Tsavo Man-Eaters shot by John Henry Patterson

Patterson shot the first lion on 9 December 1898 after months of attempts.

After repeated unsuccessful attempts, Patterson shot the first lion on 9 December 1898. This event marked a turning point in the crisis, allowing for the eventual resumption of work.

Sources

  1. John Henry Patterson (author) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-10
  2. Tsavo Man-Eaters Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-11

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.