August Kappler (11 November 1815 – 20 October 1887) was a German researcher,
naturalist and explorer who was a native of
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
. He is credited as the founder of
Albina, Suriname
Albina is a town in eastern Suriname, and is capital of the Marowijne District. The town lies on the west bank of the Marowijne river (Maroni river), which forms the border with French Guiana, directly opposite the French Guianan town of Saint-L ...
.
From January 1836, Kappler was stationed in
Suriname as a soldier and member of the Dutch colonial service. Here he had the opportunity to explore the country, and in the process, amass a large collection of insects and plants. In 1854 he published a book involving his experiences in the Dutch colony during time spent as a member of the colonial service.
After his military duties were finished, he spent the years 1842 to 1846 based in
Paramaribo
Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...
, from where he sold
butterflies that were collected locally. In latter part of 1846, he had earned enough money to purchase a plot of land near the
Marowijne River
The Maroni or Marowijne (french: link=no, Maroni, nl, Marowijne, Sranan Tongo: ''Marwina-Liba'') is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname.
Course
The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist fores ...
. Here he would spend the next 33 years of his life, working as a trader, farmer, postal official, among other occupations. He called his homestead "Albina", after his fiancé Albina Josefine Liezenmaier. Within the decade, Albina would become a small settlement with a handful of European settlers.
In 1879 Kappler left Suriname and returned to Germany, subsequently publishing two more books on his experiences in the Dutch colony. He died in
Stuttgart at the age of 71, and at his funeral, his coffin was covered with the flag of the Netherlands.
Selected publications
* ''Sechs Jahre in Surinam oder Bilder aus dem militärischen Leben dieser Kolonie und Skizzen zur Kenntnis seiner sozialen und naturwissenschaftlichen Verhältnisse'', (Six years in Suriname or images from the military life of this colony and sketches to its social and scientific conditions);
Stuttgart 1854.
* ''Holländisch-Guiana; Erlebnisse und Erfahrungen während eines 34 jährigen Aufenthalts in der Kolonie Surinam'', (Dutch Guiana; Experiences during a 34-year stay in the colony of Surinam); Stuttgart 1881.
* ''Surinam, sein Land, seine Natur, Bevölkerung und seine Kultur-Verhältnisse mit Bezug auf Kolonisation'', (Suriname, The country, its nature, population and cultural conditions with respect to colonization); Stuttgart 1887.
References
Germany and the Americas By Thomas Adam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kappler, August
19th-century German botanists
German explorers
Scientists from Mannheim
Explorers of South America
1815 births
1887 deaths