Ludwig von Höhnel
Ludwig Ritter von Höhnel (6 August 1857, Preßburg – 23 March 1942, Vienna)[1] was an Austrian naval officer and explorer.[2] He was trained at the naval academy in Fiume, then part of the Austrian empire. His brother was the naturalist Franz Xaver Rudolf von Höhnel (1852–1920).
Journey with Chanler 1892–1894[edit]
Between 1892 and 1894, Höhnel explored the territory in the vicinity of Mount Kilimanjaro with American magnate William Astor Chanler.[6] They proceeded inland from the coast, mapping the north-eastern part of the Mount Kenya massif,[7] the Guasso Nyiro River, the Lorian Swamp, the Tana River, Lake Rudolph and then Lake Stefanie. They were the first westerners to come into contact with the Tigania, the Igembe Meru and the Rendille people in this region (Carl Peters had passed to the south in 1889). On 30 January 1893, they were attacked by some 200 warriors of the Wamsara (a subgroup of the Meru), who retreated after killing three porters.[8] The expedition was eventually stranded in what is now the Meru North District of Kenya because of the death of all of its 165 pack animals (probably due to trypanosomiasis) and the desertion of many of the 200 porters.[9] On 24 August 1893, Höhnel was gored by a rhinoceros in the groin and lower abdomen[10] and was forced to leave Chanler and return to Zanzibar and then Vienna, arriving in February 1894.[11] Out of about five hundred photos taken during the journey, 155 photographs taken by Höhnel have survived.[12]
During this expedition, Höhnel and Chanler explored over 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2) of previously unmapped territory, fixed the exact position of Mount Kenya, and viewed the Nyambeni hills, Chanler's Falls, and the Lorian Swamp, and mapped the course of the Ewaso Ng'iro River. Five specimens donated to the Smithsonian were previously unknown species, including two species of butterflies, two species of reptiles, and Chanler's Mountain Reedbuck.[8]: 100
Legacy[edit]
Höhnel is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of chameleon, Trioceros hoehnelii.[18] In 1958 the Ludwig von Höhnel Lane in Vienna was named after him.[19]