Herbert Lang
Encyclopedia
Herbert Lang was a German zoologist.
Lang was born in Oehringen, Württemberg
, Germany. His childhood interest in nature led to a job as a taxidermist and later work at the natural history museum at the University of Zurich
.
In 1903, Lang, then 24, emigrated to the U.S. and began working at the American Museum of Natural History
. He made his first field expedition to Kenya
in 1906, returning with 178 mammal and 232 avian samples.
After his successful expedition, Lang was put in charge of the Museum's Congo
expeditions, which he continued to lead until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. In 1919, he became the Assistant Curator in the Museum's Department of Mammalogy.
Lang returned to Africa, accompanied by Rudyerd Boulton, in 1925 and collected 1,200 mammal specimens, including the rare giant sable antelope
. In 1935, he married the widow of a close friend.
Lang was born in Oehringen, Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, Germany. His childhood interest in nature led to a job as a taxidermist and later work at the natural history museum at the University of Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
.
In 1903, Lang, then 24, emigrated to the U.S. and began working at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. He made his first field expedition to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in 1906, returning with 178 mammal and 232 avian samples.
After his successful expedition, Lang was put in charge of the Museum's Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
expeditions, which he continued to lead until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. In 1919, he became the Assistant Curator in the Museum's Department of Mammalogy.
Lang returned to Africa, accompanied by Rudyerd Boulton, in 1925 and collected 1,200 mammal specimens, including the rare giant sable antelope
Giant Sable Antelope
The Giant Sable Antelope, Hippotragus niger variani, also known in Portuguese as the Palanca Negra Gigante, is a large, rare subspecies of Sable Antelope native and endemic to the region between Cuango and Luando Rivers in Angola....
. In 1935, he married the widow of a close friend.
External links
- Lang bio
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History - Objects and Photographs from Lang Congo Expedition 1909-1915 (section Collections Online, option Collections Highlights).
- A series of Herbert Lang's wildlife photographs taken in South Africa during the 1930s