August Kappler was a German researcher

Researcher

A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...

, naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

 and explorer who was a native of Mannheim

Mannheim

Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

. He is credited as the founder of Albina, Suriname

Albina, Suriname

Albina is a town in eastern Suriname, and is capital of the Marowijne District. The town lies on the west bank of the Marowijne river , which forms the border with French Guiana, directly opposite the French Guianan town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, to which it is connected by a frequent ferry...

.

In January-1836, Kappler became stationed in Suriname as a soldier and member of the Dutch colonial service. Here he had the opportunity to explore the country, where he amassed a large collection of insects and plants. In 1854 he published a book about his experiences in the Dutch colony during his time as a member of the colonial service.

After his military duties were finished, he spent the years 1842 to 1846 based in Paramaribo

Paramaribo

Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people, more than half of Suriname's population...

, from where he sold butterflies that he collected in the region. In late-1846 he had earned enough money to purchase a plot of land near the Marowijne River. Here he would live for the next 33 years of his life as a trader, farmer, postal official, et al. He called his homestead "Albina", which he named after his fiancé Albina Josefine Liezenmaier. Within the decade Albina would become a small settlement with a handful of European settlers.

In 1879 Kappler left Suriname and returned to Germany, where he published two more books about his experiences in the Dutch colony. He died in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

at the age of 71, and at his funeral his coffin was covered with the flag of the Netherlands.

Selected publications

• Sechs Jahre in Surinam oder Bilder aus dem militärischen Leben dieser Kolonie und Skizzen zur Kenntnis seiner sozialen und naturwissenschaftlichen Verhältnisse, (Six years in Suriname or Images from the Military Life of this Colony and Sketches to its Social and Scientific Conditions); Stuttgart 1854
• Holländisch-Guiana; Erlebnisse und Erfahrungen während eines 34 jährigen Aufenthalts in der Kolonie Surinam, (Dutch Guiana; Experiences during a 34-year Stay in the Colony of Surinam); Stuttgart 1881
• Surinam, sein Land, seine Natur, Bevölkerung und seine Kultur-Verhältnisse mit Bezug auf Kolonisation, (Suriname, The Country, Its Nature, Population and Cultural Conditions with Respect to Colonization); Stuttgart 1887