Henri Mouhot

Alexandre Henri Mouhot ( born May 15, 1826 in Montbeliard, France, † October / November 1861 in Luang Prabang in Laos) was a French naturalist and explorer.

He left on April 27, 1858 London to tour Siam, Cambodia and Laos. In January 1860, he reached Angkor, where he made a number of sketches and drawings.

1868 illustrated travelogue Voyage a Siam et dans le Cambodge was published posthumously by the temples of Angkor first attracted the attention of the general public in Europe in coming.

Mouhot is often referred to as the discoverer of Angkor, a claim that he never asked and do not correspond to the facts, as early as the 16th century had reached the place Portuguese travelers and even some missionaries had already been there before him. In his book, he quoted himself explicitly from the report of the French missionary Charles -Emile Bouvillevaux who visits the temple years before him and had reported it. The Khmer always knew of the existence of the old temples and used some, like Angkor Wat, at all times for religious rites.

Mouhot died of malaria when he explored the area of ​​Luang Prabang. When the French consul Auguste Pavie 1887 came on his grave stone badly preserved, he let in the same location on the banks of the Nam Khan near the city build a new grave stone. It was only in 1990 rediscovered in the jungle.