Gustav Nachtigal
| Gustav Nachtigal | |
|---|---|
_-_Erwin_Hanfstaengl_(...)Hanfstaengl_Erwin_btv1b8450662m_(cropped).jpg) |
|
| Born |
23 February 1834 Eichstedt, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 20 April 1885 (aged 51) at sea off Cape Palmas, West Africa |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation |
Military surgeon Commissioner for West Africa Consul-general for the German Empire |
| Known for | German explorer of Africa |
Gustav Nachtigal (23 February 1834 – 20 April 1885) was a German explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland and Kamerun becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire. The Gustav-Nachtigal-Medal, awarded by the Berlin Geographical Society, is named after him.
Gustav Nachtigal, the son of a Lutheran pastor, was born at Eichstedt in the Prussian province of Saxony-Anhalt. After medical studies at the universities of Halle, Würzburg and Greifswald, he practiced for several years as a military surgeon. He worked in Cologne, Germany. Nachtigal contracted a lung disease and relocated to Annaba in Algeria in October, 1862. He also went to Tunis in North Africa and took part, as a surgeon, in several expeditions into Central Africa. It was in Tunis where he learned to speak Arabic.
He returned to Germany and met Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs. Rohfl's asked him to go to the Bornu Empire. He then would be commissioned by King Wilhelm I of Prussia to carry gifts to Umar of Borno, sheik of the Bornu Empire, in acknowledgment of kindness shown to German travelers, such as Heinrich Barth, he set out in 1869 from Ottoman Tripoli and succeeded after a two years journey in accomplishing his mission. During this period he visited Tibesti and Borku, regions of the central Sahara not previously known to Europeans. He traveled with eight camels and six men.
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