Hermann Schlagintweit, Sakünlünski (13 May 1826 – 19 January 1882), also known as Hermann Rudolph Alfred von Schlagintweit-Sakünlünski, was a German

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 ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Brothers Hermann, Adolph and Robert Schlagintweit were commissioned by the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

to study the earth's magnetic field in South and Central Asia. They were the first Europeans to cross the Kunlun mountains and the first to explore the region between Karakoram and Kunlun.

Life

The eldest of the five Schlagintweit brothers of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, along with his brother

Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

, he published a scientific study of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

in 1846–1848. They established their reputation with the ''Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie der Alpen'' (1850), and were afterwards joined by brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, and jointly published ''Neue Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie und Geologie der Alpen'' in 1854. In 1854, acting on the recommendation of

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

, the

commissioned Hermann, Adolf, and Robert to make scientific investigations in their territory, and particularly to study the Earth's magnetic field. For the next three years, they travelled through the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

, then up into the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, Karakoram, and Kunlun mountains. Hermann and Robert were the first Europeans to cross the Kunlun, for which achievement Hermann received the title "Sakünlünski". Hermann visited

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, then returned to Europe, where with Robert he published ''Results of a Scientific Mission to India and High Asia'' (four vols., 1860–1866). He spent the remainder of his life in literary and scientific work, both at Munich and at the Schloß Jägersburg castle near

Forchheim Forchheim () is a town in Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Franconian Switz ...

Standard author abbreviation

Botanical collections

Botanical specimens collected by the Schlagintweit brothers are held at several herbaria around the world, including the Philadelphia Herbarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences (PH) and

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.5 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known a ...

at the

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria are botanic gardens across two sites–Melbourne and Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land was reserved on the south side of the Yarra River for a new botanic garden. It extends across ...

. In 1853, botanist

Griseb. August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach () was a German botany, botanist and phytogeography, phytogeographer. He was born in Hannover on 17 April 1814 and died in Göttingen on 9 May 1879. Biography Grisebach studied at the Lyceum in Hanover, the clo ...

published '' Schlagintweitia'', a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s from Europe, belonging to the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

, with its name honouring Hermann Schlagintweit and his brothers Adolf and Robert.

Selected works

* ''Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie der Alpen'', 1850. * ''Neue Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie und Geologie der Alpen'', 1854. * Hermann, Adolph, Robert und Emil Schlagintweit Nachlass (854 - 1857.
Weiteres Material zur Asienreise, Photographien und Zeichnungen von Menschen
'. BSB Schlagintweitiana IV.2. *

undertaken between the years MDCCCLIV. and MDCCCLVIII., by order of the court of directors of the Honorable East India Company / by Hermann, Adolphe, and Robert de Schlagintweit : with an atlas of panoramas, views and maps'', Leipzig : F.A. Brockhaus ; London : Trübner & Co., 1861-66. * ''Neue daten über den todestag von Adolph v. Schlagintweit, nebst bemerkungen über mussălmán’sche zeitrechnung'', München, Akademische buchdr. von F. Straub, 1869. * ''Reisen in Indien und Hochasien. Eine darstellung der landschaft, der cultur und sitten der bewohner, in verbindung mit klimatischen und geologischen verhältnissen. Basirt auf die resultate der wissenschaftlichen mission von Hermann, Adolph und Robert von Schlagintweit, ausgeführt in den jahren 1854-1858'', Jena, H. Costenoble, 1869-80. * ''Bericht über die ethnographischen gegenstände unserer sammlungen und über die raumanweisung in der K. Burg zu Nürnberg ...'', München, Buchdruckerei von F. Straub, 1878.

References

;Attribution

External links

A detailed story of the adventures of the three brothers Hermann, Adolf and Robert in India and the Himalayas. ter {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlagintweit, Hermann German explorers Explorers of Central Asia 1826 births 1882 deaths German male writers