Schweinfurth

Schweinfurth, GEORG AUGUST, a German traveller in Africa, was born in Riga, 29th December 1836. He studied at Heidelberg, Munich, and Berlin, making botany his specialty. In 1864 he made a journey through the valley of the Nile, and along the coasts of the Red Sea as far as Abyssinia. In 1869, by the aid of a grant from the Humboldt Society of Berlin, he again started for Khartoum, whence he made his way into the interior in the company of ivory-traders, passed through the regions inhabited by the Bongo, Dinka, Niam-Niam, Madi, and Monbuttu peoples, and discovered the Welle. He returned in 1871, and in 1874 published his travels, an English translation, The Heart of Africa, appearing the same year. At the request of the Khedive he founded in 1872 the Egyptian Geographical Society, and was nominated president of the same. Between 1874 and 1883 he explored various districts of Egypt, especially their botany. In 1880 he was appointed director of all the Egyptian museums, collections, &c. in Cairo. He has published Artes Africane (Leip. and Lond. 1875) and numerous papers in the journals, Petermann's Mitteilungen, Zeitschrift für Erdkunde, Globus, &c. In 1891-94 he made a botanical expedition to Erythrea.