Franz Ewald Theodor Bachmann (6 June 1856 – after 1916), was a medical practitioner and naturalist. Bachmann was born in Lissa, present-day

Leszno Leszno (german: Lissa, 1800–1918 ''Lissa in Posen'') is a historic city in western Poland, within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Previously, it ...

, Poland. studied in Breslau with

Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on alpha taxonomy, plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families'' ...

and in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

where he was awarded an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1883. He arrived in the Cape on 4 July 1883 in the company of Friedrich Wilms and disembarked while Wilms carried on to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. Bachmann spent the next four years practising medicine in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

, spending two years in Darling and the remainder in Hopefield. In November 1887 he left for

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

aboard the ''Trojan'' and stayed for a year in

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peopl ...

where he acted as agent for ''Berlinsche Pondo Gesellschaft'', writing a report on the natural resources there and trying to acquire land for a German agricultural settlement, a venture which was never realised. He wrote an account of his experiences ''"Reisen, Erlebnisse und Beobachtungen in der Kapkolonie, Natal und Pondoland"'', published in 1901 in Berlin, but of scant botanical importance. His first trip went from Durban to

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, across the

Ixopo Ixopo is a town situated on a tributary of the Mkhomazi River along the R56 highway in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Background Ixopo was formerly known as Stuartstown, was laid out in 1878 and named after M Stuart, Resident Magi ...

and

Umzimkulu River The Mzimkulu River is a river in South Africa. In the past, the Mzimkulu formed part of the border between Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Presently this river is part of the Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area. In late February ...

s to Clydesdale Mission. His return route crossed the Ibisi River near Harding where he called at the Marburg Mission before getting back to Durban via a boat from

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...

. His second journey started off on 15 January 1888 when he left on horseback from Marburg Mission with Conrad Beyrich. They went via Flagstaff to

Lusikisiki Lusikisiki is a town in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rustling sound of reeds in the wind, named by the local Xhosa people. Lusikisiki is 45 kilometers ...

, visiting ''Qawukeni'' or '' Qaukeni'', the

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African settlement or village surrounded by a fence of th ...

of the Paramount Chief of the

Pondo people The Mpondo People or simply AmaMpondo, is one of the kingdoms in what is now the Eastern Cape.Mpondo people
...

. From there they went through to the Egossa Forest and on to Port St Johns. Establishing a camp at the ill-fated

Port Grosvenor Port Grosvenor was a harbour on the Wild Coast in South Africa, near the spot where the Indiaman ''Grosvenor'' was wrecked in 1782. It was only in use in 1885 and 1886. History The construction of Port Grosvenor was initiated by Captain Sidney ...

, he made a short excursion to the Mateku Falls on a tributary of the Umsikaba River. He reached Durban in November 1888 and embarked on a boat calling at

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

en route to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

where he arrived in January 1889. Besides flowering plants he collected some fungi, lichens and mosses, and various natural history specimens. Insect collections, mainly

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

made by him in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

, Breslau and Mähren are conserved in Landesmuseum für Naturkunde Münster and insect collections made in

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

are in

Museum für Naturkunde The Natural History Museum (german: Museum für Naturkunde) is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major muse ...

in Berlin. He is commemorated in the genera ''

Bachmannia ''Bachmannia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Capparaceae with the sole member being ''Bachmannia woodii'', (Xhosa: Umtswantswantsa) the four-finger bush. It is native to southeastern Africa. Etymology The taxon name "'' ...

'' and '' Bachmanniomyces'', and the species '' Leonotis bachmannii'', '' Struthiola bachmannii'' and '' Kniphofia bachmannii''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bachmann, Franz Ewald Theodor Botanists with author abbreviations 19th-century German botanists German naturalists German entomologists 1850 births German expatriates in South Africa 1910s deaths People from Leszno