Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss (9 July 1812 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 ....

 - 15 September 1890 Stuttgart), was a German scientist, traveller and collector.

Early life

He was an apothecary's apprentice and worked as a pharmacist for a while, but then took up the study of mineralogy

Mineralogy

Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...

, zoology

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

 and chemistry at Tübingen

Tübingen

Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...

 and Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

, where he excelled academically and was awarded a Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 summa cum laude in 1836.

Cape Province 7 May 1838 - 2 June 1839

The following year Baron von Ludwig, famous for his garden in Cape Town, visited Germany and persuaded Krauss to visit South Africa. They sailed from Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 aboard the 676-ton barque La Belle Alliance (the same vessel that had carried 1820 Settlers

1820 Settlers

The 1820 Settlers were several groups or parties of white British colonists settled by the British government and the Cape authorities in the South African Eastern Cape in 1820....

 from England to the Eastern Cape) and arrived in Cape Town 81 days later on 7 May 1838. Krauss started collecting and studying the fauna, flora and geology of Cape Town and environs in earnest after a short trip to Tulbagh

Tulbagh

Tulbagh is a town in the Tulbagh valley and is situated in the Witzenberg Local Municipality, with the valley called "Die Land van Waveren" locally. Closest towns are Wolseley, Prince Alfred's Hamlet, Gouda and Ceres in the Boland district of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.The valley has...

. He collected molluscs and crustaceans, marine algae and fish. Planning a trip to the interior, he ordered a wagon to be made. He set off with his ox-wagon, 14 oxen, a horse and two assistants, going over Sir Lowry's Pass

Sir Lowry's Pass

Sir Lowry's Pass is a mountain pass on the N2 national road in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It crosses the Hottentots-Holland mountain range between Somerset West and Grabouw on the main national road between Cape Town and the Garden Route...

 and the Houhoek Pass to Genadendal

Genadendal

Genadendal is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, built on the site of the oldest mission station in the country.-Location:Genadendal is approximately 90 minutes drive east of Cape Town in the Riviersonderend Mountains....

. From here he visited Kogmanskloof by horse. Leaving Genadendal he travelled southwards to Caledon

Caledon, Western Cape

Caledon is a town in the Overberg region in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located about east of Cape Town. it had a population of 10,650. It is located in, and the seat of, the Theewaterskloof Local Municipality....

, to Walker Bay

Walker Bay

Walker Bay is a large bay located in the south-western Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the next major bay between False Bay near Cape Town and Cape Agulhas to the south-east. The bay is famous for having some of the best land based whale-watching in the world, which a town on its...

, Elim

Elim, Western Cape

Elim is a village on the Agulhas Plain in the Western Cape of South Africa. It was established in 1824 by German missionaries as a Moravian mission station. When selecting the location, the missionaries placed a high priority on the proximity of water and on terrain that was suitable for planting...

, Prinskraal, Cape Agulhas

Cape Agulhas

Cape Agulhas is a rocky headland in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, along Struisbaai

Struisbaai

Struisbaai is a coastal settlement in the Overberg region of South Africa's Western Cape province. The town is two hours South from Cape Town in the Cape Agulhas Local Municipality within the Overberg District, and four kilometers from the southernmost point of the African continent at Cape...

 to De Hoop and Swellendam

Swellendam

Swellendam is the third oldest town in the Republic of South Africa, a town with 28,072 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 National monuments most of them buildings of Cape Dutch architecture....

. From here he set out eastwards to Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province...

 and George

George, Western Cape

George is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :...

, spending some time in the extensive forests of the Tsitsikamma. He went on a small side trip from George across the Outeniqua Mountains to Oudtshoorn and the Cango Caves

Cango Caves

The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestones at the foothills of the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The principal cave is one of the country's finest, best known and most popular tourist caves and attracts many visitors from overseas...

. Going further east from George, he crossed the Kaaimans River, but had to leave his wagon at the Diep River because of a dangerous crossing. Travelling further with Rev. Ballott and staying with Capt. Thomas Henry Duthie

Thomas Henry Duthie

Captain Thomas Henry Duthie arrived in Cape Town from Scotland in 1826. He was stationed at the Castle of Good Hope with the 72nd Highlanders.- References :* Sanni Metelerkamp, George Rex of Knysna ....

 (friend of Charles Collier Michell

Charles Collier Michell

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Collier Michell, , later known as Charles Cornwallis Michell, was a British soldier, first surveyor-general in the Cape, road engineer, architect, artist and naturalist.-Early life:...

) on the farm Belvidere, before joining George Rex

George Rex

George Rex was a British-born entrepreneur, who spent most of his adult life in the Cape Colony, South Africa. He founded the town of Knysna in the Western Cape and played a key role in its development...

 at Melkhout Kraal. From here he touched at Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed Plet or Plett, is the primary town of the Bitou Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of the census of 2001, there were 29149 population...

 and Keurbooms River, and on 19 February 1839 left Knysna

Knysna

Knysna is a town with 76,431 inhabitants in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and is part of the Garden Route. It lies 34 degrees south of the equator, and is 72 kilometres east from the town of George on the N2 highway, and 25 kilometres west of Plettenberg Bay on the same road.-History:A...

 to return to his abandoned wagon at Diep River and decided to tackle the difficult Devilskop pass into the Langkloof

Langkloof

Langkloof is a 160 km long valley in South Africa, lying between Herold, a small village north of George, and Humansdorp. The kloof was given its name by Isaq Schrijver in 1689, and more thoroughly explored by a later expedition under ensign August Frederik Beutler in 1752.The valley has been...

, where he found that the trip had so exhausted his oxen that they needed to be replaced. Travelling east along the Langkloof, he made an excursion lasting a week on horseback to Toorwater at the point where the Olifants River

Olifants River (Southern Cape)

Olifants River has its origins in the Traka and Kalkwal Rivers north of the Swartberg, and becoming the Olifants River after flowing through the Toorwaterpoort, flowing west through Oudtshoorn and joining the Gourits River, then heading south to its mouth at Gouritsmond.The northern tributaries of...

 cuts through the Swartberg

Swartberg

The Swartberg mountains make up a mountain range that runs roughly east-west along the northern edge of the semi-arid Little Karoo in the Western Cape province of South Africa...

, returning over Antoniesberg and the Kouga Mountains and meeting up with his wagon, which had gone ahead, on 1 March. When he reached Jagersbos three days later, he turned south over the Kareedouwberg to the Moravian Mission station at Koksbosch (which is now known as Clarkson) and went on to Driefontein. He spent 3 weeks in this locality, referring to it as Tsitsikamma, before moving across the Gamtoos River

Gamtoos River

Gamtoos River formed by the Kouga and the Groot is situated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and is approximately 645 km long with a catchment area of 34,635 km²...

 and on to Uitenhage

Uitenhage

Uitenhage is a South African town with 275,185 inhabitants in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. The town's name is pronounced by English speakers and in Afrikaans...

 where he stayed with the pharmacist and plant collector Joachim Brehm. Here he sold his wagon and oxen to a Dr. John Jones who farmed north of the Groot Winterhoek Mountains. From Uitenhage he made several outings to Swartkops, Bethelsdorp, Port Elizabeth and Cape Recife, visiting the botanist and retired major Friedrich von Buchenröder on the Swartkops River.

While in Port Elizabeth, Krauss heard many reports about Natal that piqued his interest. He determined to go there, but first ventured north into the Karoo

Karoo

The Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...

. He followed the course of the Coega River to Elandshoorn and ascended the Groot Winterhoekberge. From there he went on to the Gamtoos River

Gamtoos River

Gamtoos River formed by the Kouga and the Groot is situated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and is approximately 645 km long with a catchment area of 34,635 km²...

, following it to where it breaks through the Groot Winterhoekberge as the Grootrivier, and further north to the Springbokvlakte. At this point grazing was so poor that he returned on 20 May to Dr. Jones' farm in the Groot Winterhoekberge. On 2 June 1839 he sailed from Port Elizabeth to Natal on the "Mazeppa".

Natal 2 June 1839 - 5 February 1840

Krauss enjoyed the company of 2 other naturalists for the eight-day voyage to Port Natal - the Swede Wahlberg

Johan August Wahlberg

Johan August Wahlberg was a Swedish naturalist and explorer.Wahlberg started studying chemistry at the University of Uppsala in 1829, and later forestry, agronomy and natural science, graduating from the Institute of Forestry in 1834...

 and the Frenchman Adulphe Delegorgue. The first significant zoological exploration of Natal, with its adjacent territories of Kaffraria to the south and Zululand to the north, can be dated from 1839 with their arrival. Krauss stayed in a reed hut at Congella, going on daily excursions into the bush or along the seashore. He was delighted with the variety of species that he encountered. "I was surprised at the variety and colourfulness of the molluscs left in the little pools and puddles on the rocks after high tide. It was like a flower garden - lovely coloured actiniae and other coelenterata

Coelenterata

Coelenterata is an obsolete term encompassing two animal phyla, the Ctenophora and the Cnidaria . The name comes from the Greek "koilos" , referring to the hollow body cavity common to these two phyla...

, the variously coloured sea urchins and sea stars, many one- or two-shelled mollusca

Mollusca

The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...

e, and between them bushes of algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

, corallinae and zoophytae

Zoophyte

A zoophyte is an animal that visually resembles a plant. An example is a sea anemone. The name is obsolete in modern science.Zoophytes are common in medieval and renaissance era herbals, notable examples including the Tartar Lamb, a plant which grew sheep as fruit...

 with great numbers of crabs of all shades disporting themselves, created a splendid picture." Many of his finds he later described in Die südafrikanischen Crustacean (1843) and Die südafrikanischen Mollusken (1848). Krauss next moved on to Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...

 and collected in the hills around the town before returning to Congella on 17 September. Twelve days later he moved his camp to Umlaas and spent about three weeks there, concentrating his collecting on the mouth of the Umlaas River. At this time he joined a Volksraad

Volksraad

The Volksraad was the parliament of the former South African Republic , which existed from 1857 to 1902 in part of what is now the South Africa. The body ceased to exist after the British victory in the Second Anglo-Boer War. The Volksraad sat in session in Ou Raadsaal in Church Square, Pretoria...

 deputation under Landdrost

Landdrost

Landdrost was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction. It is of Dutch origin, with land- corresponding to the English meaning of an area, suggesting a somewhat larger jurisdiction than just a village or estate; and drost being a short form of Drossaard, one of many similar titles in...

 Roos, sent to visit the Zulu chief Mpanda

Mpanda

Mpanda is one of the 4 districts of the Rukwa Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the Northwest by the Kigoma Region, to the Northeast by the Tabora Region, to the East by the Mbeya Region, to the Southeast by the Sumbawanga Urban District, to the Southwest by the Nkansi District and to the West...

 at his kraal between the Umdhloti and Umvoti Rivers. On his return Krauss again stayed at Congella. His geological interests sent him on a short excursion to some coalfields near Karkloof and lying between the Bushmans and Blaauwkrantz Rivers. He returned to Pietermaritzburg and delivered a report to the Volksraad. Back at the Umlaas camp on 19 January, he resumed his collecting and made preparations for his departure.

He sailed from Port Natal on 5 February and was back in Cape Town two weeks later.

Cape Town 19 February 1840 - 22 April 1840

In Cape Town Baron von Ludwig once again extended his hospitality. Krauss made some short daytrips into the mountains between Table Mountain

Table Mountain

Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and is featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top...

 and Muizenberg

Muizenberg

Muizenberg is a beach-side suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast...

, and considered a journey to Namaqualand

Namaqualand

Namaqualand is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of 170,000 square miles/440,000 km². It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into two portions - Little Namaqualand to the south and Great Namaqualand to the...

, but the offer of employment in Stuttgart could not be postponed. With his collections taking up 16 crates, he left Cape Town on 22 April 1840 aboard the "Vernon", a new type of ship sporting an auxiliary engine. Getting back to England, he sold 500 of his plant specimens to the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

.

Germany

Back in Stuttgart, Krauss was appointed to the Natural History Museum of which he became director in 1856, partly because of the reputation he acquired from his published works. In 1880 he was honoured with a decoration entitling him to be called Dr. Ferdinand von Krauss. His factual and rather dry accounts provided an accurate record of conditions in the Cape, in particular his description of the Zulus and their way of life has been found most reliable. Some of his collections were worked out and published by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter

Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter

Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter was a German botanist and Protestant minister who was a native of Stuttgart. He was the father of geologist Ferdinand Hochstetter ....

 (1787–1860), Carl Daniel Friedrich Meisner (1800–1874), Bernhardi, Buchinger, Johann Friedrich Klotzsch

Johann Friedrich Klotzsch

Johann Friedrich Klotzsch was a German pharmacist and botanist.His principal work was in the field of mycology, with the study and description of many species of mushroom.-Selected works:...

, Julius von Flotow

Julius von Flotow

Julius von Flotow; full name- Julius Christian Gottlieb Ulrich Gustav Georg Adam Ernst Friedrich von Flotow was a German military officer and lichenologist who was born in the village of Pitzerwitz in the region of Neumark.Due to a serious war-related injury, Flotow took an early retirement from...

 (1788–1856) and Carl (Karl) Heinrich `Bipontinus' Schultz

Carl Heinrich Schultz

Carl Heinrich Schultz was a German physician and botanist, and a brother to Friedrich Wilhelm Schultz ....

 (1805–1867) - his cryptogams

Cryptogams

The name cryptogams is used fairly widely as a phrase of convenience, although regarded as an obsolete taxonomic term. A cryptogam is a plant that reproduces by spores...

 were dealt with by Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff, Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Bruch, Hering, Eduard von Martens

Eduard von Martens

Eduard von Martens sometimes known as Carl or Karl Eduard von Martens, was a German zoologist.Born in Stuttgart in 1831, von Martens attended universities in Tübingen, Stuttgart and Munich, graduating from the University of Tübingen in 1855. In 1860, he set off as part of an expedition to the Far...

, Gustav Kunze

Gustav Kunze

Gustav Kunze Gustav Kunze Gustav Kunze (4 October 1793, Leipzig -30 April 1851, Leipzigwas a German professor of zoology, an entomologist and botanist with an interest mainly in ferns and orchids....

 (1793–1851) and Johann Bernhard Wilhelm Lindenberg

Johann Bernhard Wilhelm Lindenberg

Johann Bernhard Wilhelm Lindenberg was a German bryologist who worked as a lawyer in Bergedorf .He was a native of Lübeck, and studied law at the Universities of Jena and Göttingen...

 (1781–1851). From a summary given in Flora vol. 29 pp 216–19, Krauss collected 2,308 species (mostly flowering plants) of which 340 species and 34 genera were new to science. Not all were upheld, but many were named for him - Kraussia

Kraussia

Kraussia is a flowering plant genus in the family Rubiaceae.Species include:* Kraussia socotrana, Bridson* Kraussia speciosa, Bullock...

Harv., Combretum kraussii

Combretum kraussii

The Forest bushwillow is a medium-sized to large tree of eastern South Africa, Swaziland and southern Mozambique, which is found within, or in the vicinity of forests. The specific name commemorates Dr. F. Krauss who made a collecting trip to South Africa in 1838-1840.The trees are semi-deciduous,...

Hochst., Cussonia kraussii Hochst., Adenandra kraussii Meisn., Vernonia kraussii Sch.Bip., Pavonia kraussiana Hochst., Aspalathus kraussiana Meisn. and many more.

Krauss' specimens are lodged with the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

, University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Geneve, Biozentrum Klein-Flottbek and many more herbaria.