Oskar Lenz (13 April 1848 in Leipzig – 1 March 1925 in Sooß) was a German-Austrian geologist and mineralogist born in Leipzig. In 1870, he earned his doctorate in mineralogy and geology at the University of Leipzig. In 1872, he joined as a volunteer at the Imperial Geological Reichsanstalt in Vienna. Later that same year he obtained Austrian citizenship. In 1879-80, he led the first trans-Sahara expedition from Morocco to Senegal. The primary purpose of the expedition was to perform geological studies of the region, investigating the possibilities of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

deposits. In 1880, with his Spaniard companion Cristobal Benítez, he became only the fourth European to visit the fabled city of Timbuktu. The others being, Alexander Gordon Laing (1826), René Caillié (1828) and Heinrich Barth (1853). In 1885-87, he directed the Austro-Hungarian Congo Expedition, a mission that involved crossing the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

from the

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

eastward to the Indian Ocean. The main reasons of the project were to survey the economic trade situation in the newly established

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

and to map the

Congo-Nile watershed The Congo-Nile Divide (or Nile Congo Watershed) is the continental divide that separates the drainage basins of the Nile and Congo rivers. It is about long. There are several geologically and geographically distinct sections between the point on ...

between the Nile and Congo Rivers. On the expedition, he was accompanied by

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

Oskar Baumann (up until succumbing to illness on the mission) and

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Friedrich Bohndorff Friedrich Bohndorff (16 August 1848, Plau am See, Mecklenburg-Schwerin - after 1894) was a German researcher and ornithologist. Initially apprenticed as a goldsmith, Bohndorff embarked on a journey in 1871 to Egypt, where he spent a few years lea ...

. Following the completion of his duties in Africa, he became a professor at the University of Prague (June 1887). Oasis de Tindouf - Oskar Lenz - 1880

Selected publications

* ''Ueber das Auftreten Jurassischer Gebilde in Böhmen'', (On the occurrence of Jurassic build-up in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

), (1870). * ''Skizzen aus Westafrika'' (Sketches of West Africa), (1878). *
Volume 1

Volume 2
Translated into French in 1886 by Pierre Lehautcourt. * Gallica
Volume 1Volume 2
* ''Geologische Karte von West-Afrika'', (Geological chart of West Africa), (1882). * ''Wanderungen in Afrika'' (Travels in Africa), (1895). * ''Ophir und die ruinen von Zimbabye in Südostafrika'', Prag, Verlag Des Vereins ( Ophir and the ruins of Zimbabwe in southeastern Africa), (1896).WorldCat Search
published works

References

* "This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

"; which includes
Lenz Oskar
In: '' Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950'' (ÖBL). Band 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1972, S. 140.
Literature of Travel and Exploration
ed.

Jennifer Speake Jennifer Speake, ''née'' Drake-Brockman (born 1944, Toronto) is a Canadian-British freelance writer and editor of reference books. Life Jennifer Anne Speake was born in Toronto in 1944. She was the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Percy Lumsde ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenz, Oskar 19th-century German geologists German mineralogists German explorers German explorers of Africa 20th-century Austrian geologists Austrian mineralogists Austrian explorers Scientists from Leipzig Academic staff of Charles University 1848 births 1925 deaths Explorers of Africa