Born on 14 December 1730, the eldest son of the Laird of Kinnaird, Stirling, Scotland.

In the course of his travels in Ethiopia, Bruce reached the headstream of the Blue Nile, then thought to be the Nile river's main source.
The credibility of some of his observations that were published in his book ' Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile' (1790), was questioned in England, but later travellers for the most part agreed with Bruce.
Brave and learned, Bruce was also gruff and quarrelsome with any that doubted his word. A proud and honourable man, and when he spoke in his later years, it made his whole stomach 'heave like organ bellows' due to a lung complaint, the result of exposure to the simoon -the blast furnace wind of the desert.
Incongruously (considering the many deadly confrontations he had headed off during his journeys), he died after falling down the stairs while safely at home at Stirling, 27 April 1794.

BRUCE'S ETHIOPIAN TRAVELS

On April 5, 1769, Bruce left Koseir (now Quseir) in Egypt to cross the Red Sea, intending to learn more about it. Up to that time, British traders from India could only go as far as Jiddah (Jedda). He traveled north along the coast to the mouth of the Gulf of Suez, then down the coast of Arabia to Yanbo, then on to Jiddah, all the time he obtained letters of assistance for his upcoming journey into Ethiopia.

Not going directly to Ethiopia, he went south to the coast of Yemen and the Straits of Mandeb to chart the southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, and after about two months he headed north to Luheia in Yemen. Here he picked up his guide and headed across to the port of Mitsiwa (Massawa). He was now at the end of the world that Europeans knew.

Mid-eighteenth century Ethiopia was similar to the Europe of the Dark Ages, closed and feudalistic, where murder and war was the norm. At the time of Bruce’s arrival into Ethiopia, there appeared to be two main political camps: One, the strong local governor Ras Michael -with a young Emperor under his wing, and two, the people in the South called the Galla under a man named Fasil. Bruce was entering a hall of mirrors, where things may not be what they appear, and any situation could rapidly deteriorate.

After two months of continual political intrigue, Bruce was finally allowed leave the coast and to begin his journey into the interior of Ethiopia. His next destination was the city of Gondar. After three months of hardships and a painful journey through this hostile land, he arrived in February 1770, where he was obliged to spend his first three months living at court.
It was not until late May 1770 before Bruce made his first attempt to get to Lake Tana, having to turn back to Gondar from torrential rains which would have trapped him in a very hostile environment.

It would not be until October 20, 1770, before Bruce would set out for what he thought was the source of the Nile. This trip from Gondar to Lake Tana, though less than a 150 kilometres, contained that most dangerous obstacle - the rebel faction marching in the opposite direction. Bruce met the leader of the rebels and after a few audiences with the leader, and an impressive display of horsemanship, he ingratiated himself with the rebels. The leader pledged his support for Bruce’s safety and detailed some of his soldiers to travel with him. Finally, in early November 1770, Bruce reached three springs that became a small river (Little Abbai) -the source of the Blue Nile.

Bruce had reached his quest. Later it was it determined that he was at least the third European that had discovered the source of the Blue Nile (the true source of the Nile River was the source of the White Nile). He spent five days mapping the area, describing its flora and fauna. The area was called Ghish.

His journey was only half completed for he still faced the precarious task of returning. On 10 November ,Bruce left Ghish returning to Gondar; and to yet another round of seemingly endless civil war. The fact that Bruce was able to survive the various coups and counter-coups was a testament to his diplomatic abilities.

Bruce was a man who displayed his personal bravery whenever necessary, and was an unsurpassed horseman and marksman. He was also a natural linquist and something of a doctor, learned from his time in Algiers and Syria.

For a year, Bruce was obliged to remained in Gondar assisting the Emperor survive the political manouvering, his life in danger many times. By December 1771, things were stabilized for the moment, and Bruce began his return home, possibly the most dangerous and exhausting part of all of his travels.

It took the better part of two months' journey to reach Hor Cacamoot (Gallabat), in Ras el Fil, – "Valley of the Shadow of Death." An ominous name -as Bruce fell ill with dysentery here. He stayed here for another two months before he could resume his journey.

On March 18, 1772, Bruce and his party finally departed Ethiopia, en route to Sennar, the capital of the Kingdom of the Funj. He travelled through the province of Atbara whose Governor was the wiley Sheik Fidele. He then travelled through the burning Sudanese lowlands, arriving in Sennar on the banks of the Blue Nile, four months later.

The Funj Kingdom of Sennar was a strange and mysterious place. Indeed, some things in its history are still uncertain; Bruce being the first traveler to give a reasonably clear account of it to Europe.
In Sennar the courts of the sheiks kept up a barbaric sort of splendor, and the king's authority enforced by a small well trained cavalry, the Black Horse, who fought like medieval knights -in chain mail. Bruce wanted to move on, but once again the king refused to let him go. Bruce ran out of goods and money, and was forced to sell all but six links of his massive gold chain to buy food to keep himself and his men alive.

After four months, he managed to escape with his three Greeks, the old Turk, an unreliable guide, and five camels. Ahead lay 1300 kilometres of unknown country, mostly desert that separates Sennar from Egyptian Aswan. After passing the junction of the two Niles and then Shandi (Shereiq) and Barbar, Bruce and his party reached the point where the Nile turns west to make an 1200 kilometre loop before it turns north again.

On 11 November 1772, rather than follow the great curve, they struck out on the direct but dangerous route north across the desert toward Aswan, a distance of about 500 kilometres. The men's shoes wore out and they trudged on through burning sand and over jagged rock, barefooted, and in pain. There was no food for the camels. Whirlwinds and the dreaded simoom (a violent, sand-laden wind of the desert) almost suffocated them.

Bruce's feet were so badly blistered and swollen that he could scarcely walk. As a last desperate resort Bruce and his companions killed the camels and drained their stomachs to replenish their water supplies. They set off on foot, leaving Bruce's instruments and the records of his four years of travel.

The party staggered on, and in the evening, when all hope seemed lost they heard the distant sound of a cataract. Next morning, November 29, 1772, they limped into Aswan.
Despite his desperate condition, Bruce's first thought was for his papers. He begged camels from the governor, retraced his steps, and found his baggage untouched. From Aswan he went by boat to Cairo, sick and with feet so swollen that he could not stand.