Carl Koldewey
Encyclopedia
Carl Christian Koldewey (born October 26, 1837 in Bücken
near Hoya, Germany
; died May 17, 1908 in Hamburg
) was a German Arctic explorer. He led both German North Polar Expedition
s.
, where he was among Arthur Breusing's best pupils. Later he went to sea again but returned to naval school in 1861. After becoming a captain
, Koldewey studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the universities of Hanover
and Göttingen
between 1866 and 1867.
expedition as captain of ship Grönland. He had the choice of either advancing northwards as far as possible along Greenland
's east coast or to reach so-called Gillis-Land
by travelling around Spitsbergen
. But adverse conditions and strong ice floes prevented him from reaching both destinations. Finally he reached his northmost latitude of 81°5' near Spitsbergen and returned.
From 1869 to 1870 he was captain of the Germania and the leader of another expedition to Greenland and to the Arctic Sea which intended to penetrate into the Arctic central region. It was equipped with the propeller steamboat
Germania and the sailing ship Hansa under captain Paul Friedrich Hegemann. Six scientists joined the expedition: astronomers and physicists Karl Nikolai Jensen Börgen and Ralph Copeland
, zoologist, botanist and physician Adolf Pansch, and surveyor Julius von Payer
. On the Hansa travelled physician and zoologist R. Buchholz and geologist
Gustav Carl Laube.
The expedition left Bremerhaven
on June 15, 1869. Already on July 20 both ships were separated. The Hansa was crushed by the ice on October 19, 1869 and the crew saved itself on an ice floe. Meanwhile the Germania reached Sabine Island
on August 5, 1869. From there the task of mapping out of the coast between 73°
and 77° northern latitude
was undertaken by taking measurements from the ship or using sleighs and whalers. This work was a continuation of Edward Sabine
's 1823 expedition. Trying to reach the North pole
, the Germania reached its northernmost latitude 75°30'N on August 14 northeast of Shannon Island
, where they had to return on account of lack of leads in the ice. Payer carried out the mapping of Shannon island while the astronomers took latitude measurements on it. A wintering camp was established at Sabine island from August 27, 1869 to July 22, 1870. Advancing inland using sleighs, the islands and coast of Greenland were mapped. Further investigations were carried out that provide an insight into the magnitude of Greenland's mountains and glaciers. However, the actual highlight and most considerable geographical achievement of the expedition was the discovery and investigation of Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Fjord.
, whose Nautical Instruments department he took over in 1875. On July 31, 1905 he retired as an admiralty's director. One of his nephews, Robert Koldewey
(1855-1925), became a famous archaeologist and architecture historian.
Bücken
Bücken is a municipality in the district of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:An Abbey was established here in Bücken in the year 882 by Rimbert, Archbishop of Bremen...
near Hoya, Germany
Hoya, Germany
Hoya is a town in the District of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the left and right bank of the Weser, approx. 20 km north of Nienburg, and 15 km southwest of Verden....
; died May 17, 1908 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
) was a German Arctic explorer. He led both German North Polar Expedition
German North Polar Expedition
German North Polar Expedition was a short series of mid-19th century German expeditions to the Arctic. The aim was to explore the North Polar Region and to brand the newly united, Prussian-led German Empire as a great power...
s.
Life and career
Koldewey was the son of merchant Johann Christian Koldewey and his wife Wilhelmine Meyer. Koldewey enrolled as a sailor in 1853 immediately after grammar school at Clausthal. At 22 he attended the naval school in BremenBremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, where he was among Arthur Breusing's best pupils. Later he went to sea again but returned to naval school in 1861. After becoming a captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
, Koldewey studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the universities of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
between 1866 and 1867.
Expeditions
Through his teacher Breusing and encouraged by August Petermann Koldewey was given the leadership of the first ArcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
expedition as captain of ship Grönland. He had the choice of either advancing northwards as far as possible along Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
's east coast or to reach so-called Gillis-Land
Kvitøya
Kvitøya is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, with an area of . It is located at , making it the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway...
by travelling around Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
. But adverse conditions and strong ice floes prevented him from reaching both destinations. Finally he reached his northmost latitude of 81°5' near Spitsbergen and returned.
From 1869 to 1870 he was captain of the Germania and the leader of another expedition to Greenland and to the Arctic Sea which intended to penetrate into the Arctic central region. It was equipped with the propeller steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
Germania and the sailing ship Hansa under captain Paul Friedrich Hegemann. Six scientists joined the expedition: astronomers and physicists Karl Nikolai Jensen Börgen and Ralph Copeland
Ralph Copeland
Ralph Copeland was an English astronomer and the third Astronomer Royal for Scotland.Copeland was born at Moorside Farm, near Woodplumpton in Lancashire, England and attended Kirkham Grammar School. He spent five years in Australia where he discovered his interest in astronomy...
, zoologist, botanist and physician Adolf Pansch, and surveyor Julius von Payer
Julius von Payer
Julius Johannes Ludovicus Ritter von Payer was an Austro-Hungarian arctic explorer and an Arctic landscape artist....
. On the Hansa travelled physician and zoologist R. Buchholz and geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
Gustav Carl Laube.
The expedition left Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
on June 15, 1869. Already on July 20 both ships were separated. The Hansa was crushed by the ice on October 19, 1869 and the crew saved itself on an ice floe. Meanwhile the Germania reached Sabine Island
Sabine Island
Sabine Island is an island to the northeast of Wollaston Foreland, previously known as Inner Pendulum Island. It was named by the Second German North Polar Expedition 1869–70 as Sabine Insel for Edward Sabine, who carried out pendulum experiments on the island in 1823.Sabine Island is 16 km long...
on August 5, 1869. From there the task of mapping out of the coast between 73°
73rd parallel north
The 73rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 73 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia, the Arctic Ocean and North America....
and 77° northern latitude
77th parallel north
The 77th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 77 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia, the Arctic Ocean and North America....
was undertaken by taking measurements from the ship or using sleighs and whalers. This work was a continuation of Edward Sabine
Edward Sabine
General Sir Edward Sabine KCB FRS was an Irish astronomer, geophysicist, ornithologist and explorer.Two branches of Sabine's work in particular deserve very high credit: Determination of the length of the seconds pendulum, a simple pendulum whose time period on the surface of the Earth is two...
's 1823 expedition. Trying to reach the North pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
, the Germania reached its northernmost latitude 75°30'N on August 14 northeast of Shannon Island
Shannon Island
Shannon is a large island in the Sermersooq municipality, in eastern Greenland, to the east of Hochstetter Foreland, with an area of . It was named by Douglas Charles Clavering on his 1823 expedition for the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon, a 38 gun frigate on which he served as midshipman under Sir...
, where they had to return on account of lack of leads in the ice. Payer carried out the mapping of Shannon island while the astronomers took latitude measurements on it. A wintering camp was established at Sabine island from August 27, 1869 to July 22, 1870. Advancing inland using sleighs, the islands and coast of Greenland were mapped. Further investigations were carried out that provide an insight into the magnitude of Greenland's mountains and glaciers. However, the actual highlight and most considerable geographical achievement of the expedition was the discovery and investigation of Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Fjord.
Later work
After finishing the expeditions Koldewey worked as a writer and took part in scientific publications. Since 1871 he worked at the German naval observatory in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, whose Nautical Instruments department he took over in 1875. On July 31, 1905 he retired as an admiralty's director. One of his nephews, Robert Koldewey
Robert Koldewey
Robert Johann Koldewey was a German architect, famous for his discovery of the ancient city of Babylon in modern day Iraq. He was born in Blankenburg am Harz in Germany, the duchy of Brunswick, and died in Berlin at the age of 70...
(1855-1925), became a famous archaeologist and architecture historian.
Posthumous honors
Places named after Carl Koldewey:- Koldewey-Station, a German research station in Ny-ÅlesundNy-ÅlesundNy-Ålesund is one of the four permanent settlements on the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. It is located on the Brøgger peninsula at Kongsfjorden...
on SpitsbergenSpitsbergenSpitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
. It is run by the Alfred-Wegener InstituteAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ResearchThe Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research is a scientific organization located in Bremerhaven, Germany. The institute was founded in 1980 and is named after revolutionary meteorologist climatologist, and geologist Alfred Wegener...
. - Koldewey IslandSalm IslandSalm Island is a roughly round-shaped island in Franz Josef Land, Russia.Salm Island is almost completely glaciarized except for a cape in its southern shore. Its maximum length is 17 km and its area is 344 km²...
(oстров Kольдевея) in Franz-Joseph-Land, Russian Arctic.