Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek

Hans Graf Wilczek
Photo by Carl Pietzner, around 1907
Born	(1837-12-07)7 December 1837 Vienna, Austrian Empire
Died	27 January 1922(1922-01-27) (aged 84) Vienna, Austria
Nationality	Austrian
Occupation	Explorer
Known for	Sponsorship of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition

Count Johann (Hans) Nepomuk Wilczek (German: Hans Graf Wilczek; 7 December 1837 – 27 January 1922) was an Austrian arctic explorer and patron of the arts. He was the main sponsor of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition in 1872–74.

Born in Vienna the son of well-off noble family, young Hans Wilczek made intensive travels and studied archaeology, art history as well as natural sciences. In 1858 he married Countess Emma Maria Emo Capodilista (1833–1924), a court lady of Archduchess Sophie. He travelled to Russia in 1863, including Crimea and the Caucasus. Then, in 1866, he enlisted in the Austro-Prussian War as a volunteer. Between 1868 and 1870 he travelled across Africa.

From 1872 to 1874, he provided for the S/X Admiral Tegetthoff research vessel and elaborate preparations of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition, led by Julius Payer and Karl Weyprecht from 1872 to 1874. He contributed with an amount that was significantly greater than the funds contributed by the second largest sponsor of the venture, Hungarian Count Ödon Zichy (1811–1894). Wilczek himself led a preliminary expedition to Barentsøya and the mouth of the Pechora River in order to store up depots, accompanied by the photographer Wilhelm J. Burger. In 1874 the ship's crew of the Admiral Tegethoff discovered the Franz Josef Land archipelago and named Wilczek Land and Wilczek Island in his honour.