Charles Chaillé-Long (1842-1917) was an American soldier, African explorer, and writer. After serving in the Civil War, he was commissioned (1869) in the Egyptian Army under General Charles G. Gordon. Chaillé-Long explored the Victoria, the Nile, and was awarded a medal by the American Geographical Society. In 1875, he crossed the Congo-Nile divide to the Bahr Ghazal region. He returned to the United States, graduated from Columbia Law School, and became consul general and secretary to the legation in Korea.

Charles Gordon (1833-1885) was a British general who served the interests of the empire in Eurasia, China and Africa. First serving in the Crimean War, he was later sent to fight and suppress the Taiping Rebellion in China, being honored by both Britain and China. He then went to Africa and eventually became the Governor-General of the Sudan, suppressing revolts and the slave trade there. He retired and returned to Egypt in 1880, only to be called back into service in the Sudan to secure the evacuation of British subjects and allies. After their evacuation, Gordon established a resistance in the city of Khartoum to oppose the uprising. He died in the defense of the city after almost a year.

Sir Samuel White Baker (1821-1893) was a British explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. He held the titles of Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. He served as the Governor-General of the Equatorial Nile Basin, which he established as the Province of Equatoria. He is mostly remembered as the discoverer of Lake Albert, an explorer of the Nile and interior of central Africa, and his exploits as a big game hunter in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Baker wrote a considerable number of books and published articles. He was a friend of King Edward VII who as, Prince of Wales, visited Baker with Queen Alexandra in Egypt.