Peter August Möller (11 April 1858 – 4 April 1951) was a Swedish soldier, traveler, hunter and author.

Family

Peter August Möller was born on 11 April 1858 in

Flo Parish ''Flo'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of ''Alice'' that aired on CBS from March 24, 1980, to June 30, 1981. The series starred Polly Holliday reprising her role as sassy and street-smart waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Cast ...

, Västergötland, Sweden. He was the son of the wholesaler Peter Möller and Augusta Cneiff. He married Rosa Wall, daughter of Dagens Nyheter's founder

Rudolf Wall Axel Rudolf Mauritz Wall (19 January 1826 – 20 August 1893) was a Swedish publisher and journalist who founded ''Dagens Nyheter'' in 1864. Biography Wall was born at Sevalla in Västmanland County, Sweden. He was the son of the merchant ...

. He married a second time to Vendela Schmidt. His sister married the explorer

Edde Gleerup Sten Edvard Gleerup, or Edde Gleerup, (13 June 1860 – 1928) was a Swedish soldier and explorer. He was the first Swede and eighth European to cross Africa. Life Sten Edvard Gleerup was born on 13 June 1860 in Chicago. His father was Georg Josef ...

. He died on 4 April 1951 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden.

Military career

In 1890, Möller became a lieutenant in the Västgöta-Dal regiment and in 1896 a captain. In 1897 he resigned with permission to remain as a captain in the regiment's reserve, which lasted until 1908.

Travel and hunting

Möller was in the service of the

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 ...

between 1883 and 1886, first as a station manager, later as district manager. Among other things, he headed the Matadi station. He spent much time hunting

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

s. In the years 1895–1896 he undertook an expedition through Angola and Namibia. He has described his experiences in Africa first in ''Tre år i Kongo (Three Years in the Congo)'' (1887), then in ''Resa i Afrika genom Angola, Ovampo och Damaraland (Travel in Africa through Angola, Ovampo and Damaraland)'' (1899). Among other things, he devoted himself to hunting African buffalo. Möller passed the

Bundi River The Bundi River is a river of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a right tributary of the lower Congo River that enters the river below the Inga Falls. If the proposed Grand Inga Dam project goes ahead, the river valley will be flooded to ...

when travelling from Vivi to

Isangila Isangila, formerly called Isanghila or Isanguila is the headquarters of a sector of the Seke-Banza territory in Kongo Central province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location The lower part of the Congo River below Stanley Pool first de ...

in the lower Congo. He wrote in 1887: In 1898–1913 Möller sat on the board of Skidfrämjandet (Association for the Promotion of Skiing in Sweden) and was a pioneer among the Swedish mountains. He led ski trips for school children to Dalarna in 1903 and 1904. He wrote ''Om skidlöpning (On Skiing)'' (1909). In 1899 and 1900 Möller traveled through South and Central America. In 1901–1902 he twice rode over the Pampas and the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. He killed five bears during a bear hunt in

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

in 1903. He established a coffee plantation in Kenya in British East Africa in 1911. During 1910–1914 in East Africa, he devoted himself to hunting lions and rhinos. He returned to Africa in 1926, at the age of 70, and bought coffee plantations in Tanganyika . He climbed

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 ...

in 1928. The peak was reached after four days of hiking from the Maranga plateau.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moller, Peter August 1858 births 1951 deaths Swedish male non-fiction writers Swedish explorers People from Grästorp Municipality