Adolf Schlagintweit
Encyclopedia
Adolf von Schlagintweit was a German
botanist and explorer of Central Asia
. The standard author abbreviation A.Schlag. is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing
a botanical name
.
The second of five brothers
in Munich
, Adolf, with his brother Hermann
, published a scientific study of the Alps
in 1846–1848. They established their reputation with the Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie der Alpen (1850), and were afterwards joined by their brother Robert
; the three jointly published Neue Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie und Geologie der Alpen in 1854.
In 1854, acting on the recommendation of Alexander von Humboldt
, the East India Company
commissioned Hermann, Adolf, and Robert to make scientific investigations in their territory and particularly to study the Earth's magnetic field. For the next three years, they travelled through the Deccan, then up into the Himalayas
, Karakoram
, and Kunlun mountains
.
While Hermann and Robert returned from their travels in early 1857, Adolf remained for further exploration. Suspected of being a Chinese
spy without benefit of a trial, he was beheaded
in Kashgar
by Wali Khan
, the amir of Kashgar
in August. The circumstances of his death were not known in Europe until 1859, when Chokan Valikhanov visited Kashgar disguised as a merchant and successfully returned to the Russian Empire with the scientist's head. The scene became a plot point in Rudyard Kipling
's "The Man Who Would Be King
."
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
botanist and explorer of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. The standard author abbreviation A.Schlag. is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing
Author citation (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
a botanical name
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
.
The second of five brothers
Schlagintweit
Five brothers of the Schlagintweit family were notable explorers and scholars:*Hermann Schlagintweit *Adolf Schlagintweit *Eduard Schlagintweit *Robert Schlagintweit *Emil Schlagintweit Also:...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Adolf, with his brother Hermann
Hermann Schlagintweit
Hermann Schlagintweit, Sakünlünski , also known as Hermann Rudolph Alfred von Schlagintweit-Sakünlünski, was a German explorer of Central Asia....
, published a scientific study of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
in 1846–1848. They established their reputation with the Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie der Alpen (1850), and were afterwards joined by their brother Robert
Robert Schlagintweit
Robert Schlagintweit was a German explorer of Central Asia who also wrote about travels in America.The fourth of the five Schlagintweit brothers of Munich, at an early age he joined his brothers Hermann and Adolf in their Alpine researches, and jointly published Neue Untersuchungen über die...
; the three jointly published Neue Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie und Geologie der Alpen in 1854.
In 1854, acting on the recommendation of Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
, the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
commissioned Hermann, Adolf, and Robert to make scientific investigations in their territory and particularly to study the Earth's magnetic field. For the next three years, they travelled through the Deccan, then up into the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, Karakoram
Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...
, and Kunlun mountains
Kunlun Mountains
The Kunlun Mountains are one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km. In the broadest sense, it forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin and the Gansu Corridor and continues east south of the Wei River to end at the North China Plain.The...
.
While Hermann and Robert returned from their travels in early 1857, Adolf remained for further exploration. Suspected of being a Chinese
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
spy without benefit of a trial, he was beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
in Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
by Wali Khan
Wali Khan (khoja)
Wali Khan was a member of the Ak Taghliq clan of East Turkestan Khojas, who invaded Kashgaria fromKokand on several occasions in the 1850s, and succeeded in ruling Kashgar for a short while....
, the amir of Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
in August. The circumstances of his death were not known in Europe until 1859, when Chokan Valikhanov visited Kashgar disguised as a merchant and successfully returned to the Russian Empire with the scientist's head. The scene became a plot point in Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's "The Man Who Would Be King
The Man Who Would Be King
For the 1975 film based on this story, see The Man Who Would Be King "The Man Who Would Be King" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling. It is about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan...
."