Alphonse van Gèle, also written van Gele or Vangele, was a Belgian soldier who served as the Vice-Governor General of the Congo Free State from December 1897 until January 1899.
He established the Equator Station, or Station de l’Équateur, today Mbandaka, and concluded a treaty with the powerful Zanzibar trader Tippu Tip at the Stanley Falls station, today Kisangani.
He is known for having confirmed that the Uele River was the upper part of the Ubangi River.
Vangelé as a lieutenant
Zongo falls
Confluence of the Uelle and Mbomou rivers. Yakoma is the light area on the left (south) bank of the combined stream.
Louis Pierre Alphonse Valcke was a Belgian viceroy and soldier.
Valcke from Stanley's 1885 The Congo and the founding of its free state
Banana in 1887
Alphonse van Gèle
The Congo leaving the Pool circa 1888