Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell, also spelled Rueppell (20 November 1794 – 10 December 1884) was a German
naturalist
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
and
explorer
Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
, best known for his collections and descriptions of plants and animals from Africa and Arabia.
Biography
Rüppell was born in
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, the son of a prosperous banker, who was a partner in 'Rüppell und Harnier’s Bank'.
He was originally destined to be a merchant, but after a visit to
Sinai in 1817, where he met
Henry Salt and the Swiss-German traveller
Ludwig Burckhardt. He explored Giza and the Pyramids with Salt. In 1818, he developed an interest in natural history, and became elected member of the ''Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft''.
He attended lectures at the
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia (, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; ) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest un ...
and
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa () is a public research university. It is one of the largest universities in Italy and it is located in the city of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region of northwestern Italy. The original university was fou ...
in
botany
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
and
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
.
Rüppell set off on his first expedition in 1821, accompanied by surgeon Michael Hey as his assistant. They travelled through the Sinai desert, and in 1822, were the first
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an explorers to reach the
Gulf of Aqaba
The Gulf of Aqaba () or Gulf of Eilat () is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
...
. They then proceeded to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
via
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...
. In 1823, they travelled up the
Nile
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
to
Nubia
Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...
, collecting specimens in the area south of
Ambukol, returning to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
in July 1825. A planned journey through
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
only reached as far as
Massawa
Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...
, where the party suffered ill health.
Rüppell returned to Europe in 1827, after battling pirates who had occupied his ship for 2 weeks.
During his absence,
Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar had used specimens sent back by Rüppell to produce the ''Atlas zu der Reise im nordlichen Afrika'' (Atlas of Travels in northern Africa) (1826). In Frankfurt, he published scientific accounts with descriptions of the various animals had encountered.
In 1830, Rüppell returned to Africa, and became the first naturalist to traverse Ethiopia (or Abyssinia as it was known then). He had been sent by the
Senckenberg Nature Research Society
The Senckenberg Nature Research Society (, until 2008 ''Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft'') is a German scholarly society with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.
Overview
Its purpose is to conduct research in the natural sciences a ...
(Senckenberg Naturforschende Gesellschaft), a learned association based in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. He was one of the first collectors of old Abyssinian manuscripts.
He climbed
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...
. Then in 1831, his team was based at Massawa for 6 months, while he collected plants and animals from the Red Sea, on excursions to the
Dahlac Islands and also inland to Arkeko.
He meet an Abyssinian trader 'Genata Mariam' from Gondar, who had 49 camels and 40 mules and donkeys in his
caravan
Caravan or caravans may refer to:
Transport and travel
*Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan
*Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together
**Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop
*Caravan (trail ...
. They travelled to
Adigrat
Adigrat ( , ''ʿaddigrat'', also called ʿAddi Grat) is a city and separate Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude , with an elevation of above sea level and below ...
in the
Tigray Region
The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...
and then through the valley of the
Tacazze River to the
Semien Mountains. He studied the
Gelada Baboon
The gelada (''Theropithecus gelada'', , ), sometimes called the bleeding-heart monkey or the gelada baboon, is a species of Old World monkey found only in the Ethiopian Highlands, living at elevations of above sea level. It is the only living me ...
, the
Walia Ibex
The Walia ibex (''Capra walie'', Amharic: ዋልያ ''wālyā Oromo: Waliyaa or Gadamsa baddaa'') is a vulnerable species of ibex. It is sometimes considered an endemic subspecies of the Alpine ibex. If the population were to increase, the sur ...
and the Giant Lobelia (''
Lobelia rhynchopetalum''). In
Gondar
Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on ...
, Rüppell was received an audience with the local Emperor Aito Saglu Denghe. He then collected various specimens near
Lake Tana
Lake Tana (; previously transcribed Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and a source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wide, with a maximum depth of , and ...
and along the uppermost part of the
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...
. In 1833, he left Gondar and then travelled to Kiratza and its monastery. In July 1833, the party and his collection sailed from Massawa via
Jidda to Egypt, and Rüppell continued to Marseille and back to Frankfurt. Unfortunately, a Russian ship with some of his collection sank off the French coast.
Around 100 new plant species were described in the years 1837-45, due to his collection. The herbarium contains more than 200 specimens and more than 25 species of vascular plants have been named after Rüppell.
He and a number of collaborators described the vertebrates in a series of general publications and later books on birds appeared.
From all his journeys in North East Africa and Arabia, it is estimated that Rüppell himself described 32 new genera and 450 species of animals, including the Semien Wolf (''Canis simensis Rüppell'' 1840), the Walia Ibex (''Capra walie'' Rüppell 1835), and the Gelada Baboon (''Theropithecus gelada'' Rüppell 1835).
Rüppell also published accounts of his travels:
*''Travels in Abyssinia''.
*
Eponymy
Species bearing his name include:
*
Rüppell's agama, ''Agama rueppelli''
*
Rüppell's black chat
Rüppell's black chat (''Myrmecocichla melaena'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Ethiopian Highlands of Eritrea and Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a land ...
, ''Myrmecocichla melaena''
*
Rüppell's broad-nosed bat, ''Scoteanax rueppellii''
*
Rüppell's bustard, ''Eupodotis rueppellii''
* Rueppell's clover, ''Trifolium rueppellianum''
* Rüppell's desert chameleon, ''
Trioceros affinis
''Trioceros affinis'', Rüppell's desert chameleon or beardless Ethiopian montane chameleon, is a species of chameleon endemic to Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located ...
''
* Rüppell's dotted border, ''
Mylothris rueppellii''
*
Rüppell's fox, ''Vulpes rueppellii''
*
Rüppell's horseshoe bat, ''Rhinolophus fumigatus''
*
Rüppell's parrot, ''Poicephalus rueppellii''
*
Rüppell's pipistrelle, ''Pipistrellus rueppellii''
*
Rüppell's robin-chat, ''Cossypha semirufa''
*
Rüppell's snake-eyed skink, ''Ablepharus rueppellii''
*
Rüppell's starling, ''Lamprotornis purpuroptera''
*
Rüppell's vulture
Rüppell's vulture (''Gyps rueppelli''), also called Rüppell's griffon vulture, named after Eduard Rüppell, is a large, resident bird of prey, mainly native to the Sahel region and East Africa. It is considered to be the highest-flying bird, ...
, ''Gyps rueppelli''
*
Rüppell's warbler, ''Curruca ruppeli''
*
Rüppell's weaver, ''Ploceus galbula''
Also named in his honor:
*''
Gutenbergia rueppellii''
*''
Nemacheilus rueppelli''
See also
*
:Taxa named by Eduard Rüppell
References
Sources
* Barbara and Richard Mearns. ''Biographies for Birdwatchers''.
* Obituary. ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography'', New Monthly Series, Vol. 8, No. 10 (Oct., 1886), pp. 654.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruppell, Eduard
1794 births
1884 deaths
19th-century German zoologists
Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery
German explorers of Africa
German ornithologists
People from the Free City of Frankfurt
University of Pavia alumni
Recipients of the Royal Geographical Society Patron's Medal