Carl Koldewey

Carl Christian Koldewey ( born October 26, 1837 in stooping at Hoya; † May 17, 1908 in Hamburg ) was a German polar explorer.

Biography

Koldewey was the son of the merchant Johann Christian Koldewey and his wife Wilhelmine Meyer. Following his schooling at the high school Clausthal hired Koldewey Easter 1853 as a cabin boy. At 22, he attended the Nautical School in Bremen, where he became one of the best students of Arthur Breusing. Later he went back to sea, back in 1861 at the Maritime School. Trained as a captain studied Koldewey 1866-1867 at the Universities of Hannover and Göttingen, among other mathematics, physics and astronomy.

Robert Koldewey (1855-1925), archaeologist and architectural historian, is his nephew.

Expeditions

Through intercession of his teacher Breusing and at the suggestion of August Petermann is transferred Koldewey 1868 as captain of Greenland, the direction of the First German Arctic expedition. He should either advance along the east coast of Greenland as far as possible to the north, or around Spitsbergen reach around the so-called Gillis country. But Adverse conditions and severe icing denied him both goals, he could finally its highest northern latitude of 81 ° 5 reach at Spitsbergen ', and then turned back.

1869 to 1870 he was head of the Second German Arctic expedition to Greenland and the Arctic Ocean with the intention of penetrating into the Arctic Central Region as captain of the Germania. The expedition, equipped with the screw steamer Germania and the sailing ship Hansa under Captain Paul Friedrich Hegemann, six scientists joined: Karl Nikolai Jensen barrows ( astronomer, physicist ), Ralph Copeland ( astronomer, physicist ), Adolf Pansch ( zoologist, botanist, physician, ) and Julius von Payer as a topographer, at the Hansa drove Reinhold Buchholz ( physician, and zoologist ) and the geologist Carl Gustav Laube.

On June 15, 1869, the expedition left Bremerhaven. Already on 20 June, the two ships were separated, the Hansa was crushed by the ice on October 19, 1869, the team rescued to a floe, while the Germania on August 5, 1869 reached the Sabine Island. Part to slide, partly by ship and boat was from here the further unveiling and recording the coast between 73 ° and 77 ° N., in continuation of the work of Sabine'schen expedition. On her foray to the North Pole, the Germania reached on August 14, their maximum width at 75 ° 30 'N, in the NE of Shannon Island, where completely closed ice forced to turn back. Payer resulted from a recording of Shannon Island, astronomers began on this island their degree measurements. For the period of August 27, 1869 to July 22, 1870 a winter port was established at the Sabine Island. On Sled trips you went deeper inside her, not only the islands and the coasts were taken, but made ​​inquiries of all kinds, which give an insight into the Alps and glaciers nature of Greenland. The real highlight of the expedition was the discovery and exploration of the Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord.

Later work

After completion of the expeditions to Koldewey operated as a writer and participated as an author of scientific publications. From 1871 on, he worked at the German Naval Observatory in Hamburg, whose department nautical instruments he took over in 1875. On 31 July 1905 he went as Admiralty Director to retire.

The Koldewey Station, a German research station in Ny- Ålesund on Spitsbergen, is named after Carl Koldewey. It is operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute. The primary school in his birthplace of bending is named after Carl Koldewey since 2011 as well as the small Koldewey Island ( остров Кольдевея ) in Franz Josef Land and the islands Lille and Store Koldewey off East Greenland.

Honors

• The Koldeweystraßen as in Braunschweig, Bremen - Walle and Hamburg- Groß Borstel were named after him.
• The Koldewey Station, a German research station in Ny- Ålesund on Spitsbergen is guided by the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven.
• The Russian Koldewey island ( oстров Kольдевея ) in Franz Josef Land is located in the Arctic Ocean.
• Captain Koldewey Elementary School in stooping, his birthplace.