Lucien Bia (2 December 1852 - August 30, 1892) was a Belgian soldier and explorer of the

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

. Bia was born in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, and after a tumultuous adolescence enrolled in the Army in 1870 for the Franco-German wars. He set out for the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

on March 15, 1887, in service with the ''Compagnie du Katanga''. In 1892, after several expeditions across the Congo, he was promoted to ''Commandant de caravane'', and served as lead guide for geologist Jules Cornet into Katanga to study mineral deposits in the regions of Likasi (Jadotville) and Kambove. Bia died in the Congo after an illness, and was buried near the Ditakata hills.

Selected works

* ''Katanga. Le Katanga avant les Belges et l'expédition Bia-Francqui-Cornet'', by René J. Cornet, Lucien Bia, Jules Cornet, and Émile Francqui.

References

"Lucien Bia", ''Biographie Coloniale Belge''

Belgian explorers Explorers of Africa Congo Free State officials Military personnel from Liège 1852 births 1892 deaths {{Belgium-bio-stub