Nathaniel King (MB 1876) was the first African-born graduate of the University of Aberdeen. His father, Thomas King, rose enslavement in West Africa to become a missionary and linguist. This talk explores the life of an African-born father and son and the connected histories of Scotland and early colonial West Africa.

His father, Thomas King, rose from enslavement in West Africa to become a missionary and linguist. This talk traces the lives of two men – a father and a son – and their impact in Aberdeen and their Nigerian homeland. The tribulations and triumphs of the King family is an improbable story of slavery, liberation, family reunion, and intellectual achievement in Scotland and early colonial West Africa.