Auguste René Caillié (19 November 1799–17 May 1838) was a French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu. Caillié had been preceded at Timbuktu by a British officer, Major Gordon Laing, who was murdered in September 1826 on leaving the city. Caillié was therefore the first to return alive.
On his return to France, he was awarded the prize of 9,000 francs by the Société de Géographie and, helped by the scholar Edme-François Jomard, published an account of his journey. In 1830, he was awarded the Gold Medal by the Société de Géographie.
Eight French colonies issued a set of three stamps with a common design depicting Caillié and a map of his journey in Africa. Engraved by René Cottet (1902–1992) and the Institut de Gravure in Paris.
