Allan Quatermain

 was a central character in Henry Rider Haggard's novels. The Fifth Doctor used one of the novels as research when he visited the Transvaal in 1877. When he met Haggard, he told him something of Allan Quatermain. (PROSE: White Man's Burden)

However, one account indicated that Quatermain was a real explorer. (PROSE: The Three Faces of Helena)