Ludwig Leichhardt

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt
Portrait of Ludwig Leichhardt
Born	(1813-10-23)23 October 1813 Sabrodt, Germany (Kingdom of Prussia)
Disappeared	April 3, 1848 (aged 34) Darling Downs, Australia
Status	Presumed killed
Occupation	Explorer
Parent(s)	Charlotte Sophie and Christian Hieronymus Leichhardt

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪç 'vɪlhɛlm 'lu:tvɪç 'laɪçhaːʁt]), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c.1848) was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.

Leichhardt was born on 23 October 1813 in the village of Trebatsch, today part of Tauche, in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. He was the fourth son and sixth of the eight children of Christian Hieronymus Matthias Leichhardt, farmer and royal inspector and his wife Charlotte Sophie, née Strählow. Between 1831 and 1836 Leichhardt studied philosophy, language, and natural sciences at the Universities of Göttingen and Berlin but never received a university degree. He moved to England in 1837, continued his study of the natural sciences at various places, including the British Museum, London, and the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, and undertook field work in several European countries, including France, Italy and Switzerland.

On 14 February 1842 Leichhardt arrived in Sydney, Australia. His aim was to explore inland Australia and he was hopeful of a government appointment in his fields of interest. In September 1842 Leichhardt went to the Hunter River valley north of Sydney to study the geology, flora and fauna of the region, and to observe farming methods. He then set out on his own on a specimen-collecting journey that took him from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Moreton Bay in Queensland.

After returning to Sydney early in 1844, Leichhardt hoped to take part in a proposed government-sponsored expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (300 km north of Darwin, Northern Territory). When plans for this expedition fell through Leichhardt decided to mount the expedition himself, accompanied by volunteers and supported by private funding. His party left Sydney in August 1844 to sail to Moreton Bay, where four more joined the group. The expedition departed on 1 October 1844 from Jimbour Homestead, the farthest outpost of settlement on the Queensland Darling Downs.