Kurt Karl Alexander Oscar Boeck (10 June 1855 – 4 October 1933) was a German actor and

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

who travelled across

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in the 1890s, photographed, and wrote on his experiences. Mahabalipuram_Kurt_Boeck

Boeck was born in Antonienhütte where his father was a steel mill owner. He studied philosophy and science while also performing at the Berlin National Theater. He took part in a lead role in "Holbach" directed by Theodor Döring which was well received leading to his being offered a position by

Bernhard Pollini Bernhard Pollini, real name Baruch Pohl, (16 December 1838 – 26 November 1897) was a German operatic tenor, and opera director. Life Born in Cologne, Pollini came from a strictly Jewish family living in very modest circumstances and was ac ...

. He however decided to return to try and complete his chemistry studies in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

. He received a doctorate in 1879 for his thesis on disulfonic acid of anthracene. He then trained in acting under Karl Gustav Berndal and Heinrich Oberländer at the Dresden court theater. He grew in stature after the retirement of Carl Ferdinand Koberstein and became a teacher in the performing arts at the Royal Conservatory in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in 1884. He moved to

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

the next year and in 1887 he took up an offer to join on an expedition to

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and the

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. He travelled to the Himalayas on his own in 1890 along with Tyrol glacier guide Hans Kerner. He took photographs and collected artefacts and specimens of natural history for various German museums. In 1888 he started a photo studio in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. He made several trip to India in 1893, 1895, and 1898–99 and began to give lectures on his travels and write books.

References

External links

(1934) Himalaya-Leider und Bilder

(1925) Indische Wunderwelt : Reisen und Erlebnisse in Britisch-Indien und auf Ceylon. Leipzig: H. Haessel Verlag.

(1922) Im Banne des Everest

(1903) Durch Indien ins verschlossene Land Nepal

(1900) Indische Gletscherfahrten--Reisen und Erlebnisse im Himalaja
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boeck, Kurt 1855 births 1933 deaths German male actors German mountain climbers German chemists