Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Karl Klaus (Carl Claus)

von der Decken von der Decken is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * von der Decken family, a German noble family * Georg von der Decken (1836–1898), German politician (DHP), grandson of Johann Friedrich von der Decken * Johann Friedrich von d ...

(born 8 August 1833 in Kotzen,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

; died 2 October 1865 near

Bardera Bardera ( ar, بارديرا, so, Bardhere) is a city in Jubaland State of Somalia. It is the second largest and most populous city in Jubaland with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region. Bardera sits on the Ju ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and the first

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an to attempt to climb

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

. Following a stint in the military, von der Decken first travelled to eastern Africa in May 1860. There he explored the region around

Lake Nyasa Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

, only a year after

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

had been the first European to reach the area. The following year, von der Decken set out from

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

to survey the Kilimanjaro

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

. During the journey inland, he met the young

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Richard Thornton Richard Thornton (20 September 1776 – 20 June 1865) was an English millionaire. He died in Merton, Surrey and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery in London. On his death, Richard Thornton left an estate of £2,800,000, which is the largest fort ...

(1838–1863) Gary Firth: in Target 199
Livingstone was impressed by Thornton's early work
– who had left Livingstone's

Zambezi expedition The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

– and invited him to accompany him to Kilimanjaro. When the massif loomed into view, it was the first time it had been sighted by Europeans since

Johannes Rebmann Johannes Rebmann (January 16, 1820 – October 4, 1876) was a German missionary, linguist, and explorer credited with feats including being the first European, along with his colleague Johann Ludwig Krapf, to enter Africa from the Indian Ocean coa ...

had been the first European to see it in 1848. Von der Decken and Thornton surveyed the area, accurately estimating Mount Kilimanjaro's height to be around 20,000 feet above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. However, when their party attempted to climb the mountain, poor weather kept them from gaining any more than a few thousand feet. On von der Decken's return the following year, this time accompanied by fellow German explorer and chemist

Otto Kersten Otto Kersten (23 December 1839 in Altenburg – 22 November 1900 in Altenburg) was a German chemist and geographer. He studied chemistry and natural sciences at the University of Leipzig, and after graduation, worked as an assistant at the vo ...

, their party's attempt to climb the mountain reached around 14,000 feet. Once again, however, deteriorating weather conditions (and, according to Kersten's account,Translated in ''Tanganyika Notes and Records'' no.64, March 1965. uncooperative porters) prevented the party from climbing any higher. The expedition was not wholly in vain, however, as close observations of Kilimanjaro's snowcapped summit were made. In 1863, von der Decken turned his attention away from Kilimanjaro and visited

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

off the coast of eastern Africa. In 1865, he visited

and became one of the first Europeans to explore the lower reaches of the

Jubba River The Jubba River or Juba River ( so, Wabiga Jubba) is a river in southern Somalia which flows through the autonomous region of Jubaland. It begins at the border with Ethiopia, where the Dawa and Ganale Dorya rivers meet, and flows directly south ...

, on board the small

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

''Welf''. After the ''Welf'' foundered in rapids beyond

, he and three others in his party were murdered by local Somalis.

Legacy

Although von der Decken failed to reach Mount Kilimanjaro's summit, his and Richard Thornton's data ended the debate as to whether there was any settled snow or ice in tropical Africa. During his 1862 expedition, von der Decken also became the first European to record a sighting of

Mount Meru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...

, located forty or so miles to the west of Mount Kilimanjaro. These achievements, together with his descriptions of the area – including that of the bird subsequently named after him, the

Von der Decken's hornbill Von der Decken's hornbill (''Tockus deckeni'') is a hornbill found in East Africa, especially to the east of the East African Rift, from Ethiopia south to Tanzania. It is found mainly in thorn scrub and similar arid habitats. Jackson's hornbill i ...

– earned von der Decken the Patron's Medal of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in 1864. ''

Lobelia deckenii ''Lobelia deckenii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae. It is a giant lobelia endemic to the mountains of Tanzania. It is listed as a threatened plant of the forests of Cherangani hills, Kenya. It grows in moist areas, ...

'', a species of giant lobelia native to the East African mountains, was also named after him. Image:Karl Klaus von der Decken Flussdampfer-Welf.jpg, Steamship ''Welf'' on exploration of the

36 m long and smaller boat 9 m long Image:Karl Klaus von der Decken Flussdampfer-Welf-Plan.jpg, Steamship ''Welf'' construction plan Image:Karl Klaus von der Decken Rast-unter-Baum.jpg, ''Rest Under a Big Tree'' Image:Kilimandscharo O. Kersten Reisen in Ost-Afrika.jpg, Kilimandscharo, woodcut 1869 by Ernst Heyn, was created with the help of a drawing by v. d. Decken

Footnotes

Bibliography

Most of the literature is in German, so see books and articles in the German Wikipedia also * Bernard Verdcourt
Collectors in East Africa
– 31
Baron Carl Claus von der Decken 1833–1865
Text extracted from ''The Conchologists’ Newsletter'', No.162, pp. 204–211 published September 2002 * Richard Thornton: in ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London'', volume 6 1861-1862 von Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain
pp. 47-51 Expedition to Kilimanjaro (in Company with the Baron von der Decken)
* Richard Thornton: in ''American Journal of Science'': the first scientific journal in the United States: devoted to the geological sciences and to related fields, 1862 Band 3
pp. 87-89 Kilimanjaro, the Snow Covered Equatorial Peak of Africa
* Charles Dundas, ''Kilimanjaro and its People'', London: Frank Cass Publishers, 1968 (; reprint of original 1924 edition). * Vincenzo Meleca, Il misterioso relitto del fiume Giuba, in http://www.ilcornodafrica.it/st-meleca%20relitto%20giuba.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Decken, Karl Klaus von der 1833 births 1865 deaths Explorers of Africa German explorers German people murdered abroad Karl Klaus Murdered explorers People murdered in Somalia Explorers from the Kingdom of Prussia