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ROHLFS, FRIEDRICH GERHARD (1831—1896)

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 461 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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ROHLFS, FRIEDRICH GERHARD (1831—1896)

ROHLFS, See also:
FRIEDRICH, JOHANN (1836— )
FRIEDRICH See also:
GERHARD
GERHARD, FRIEDRICH WILHELM EDUARD (1795-1867)
GERHARD (1831—1896) , See also:

German explorer of the See also:

SAHARA

Sahara, son of a physician, was See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at Vegesack, near See also:

BREMEN

Bremen, on the 14th of See also:

APRIL

April 1831. After the See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary course at the gymnasium of See also:

OSNABRUCK

Osnabruck he entered the Bremen See also:

CORPS (pronounced as in French, from which it is taken, being a late spelling of tors, from Lat. corpus, a body; cf. " corpse ")

corps in 1848, and took See also:

PART

part as a volunteer in the See also:

SCHLESWIG (Dan. Slesvig)

Schleswig-See also:

Holstein See also:

CAMPAIGN

campaign, being made an officer after the See also:

BATTLE

battle of Idstedt (See also:

JULY

July 185o). He became a medical student at the See also:

UNIVERSITIES

universities of See also:

HEIDELBERG

Heidelberg, See also:

WURZBURG

Wurzburg and then GSttingen; but his natural inclination was for travelling, and in 1855 he went to See also:

Algeria and enlisted in the See also:

FOREIGN

Foreign See also:

LEGION (Lat. legio)

Legion. He took part in the See also:

CONQUEST

conquest of Kabylia, and was decorated for bravery as See also:

Chevalier of the Legion of See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

Honour. Having made himself See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master of Arabic and gained a thorough knowledge of native customs, Rohlfs went to See also:

MOROCCO

Morocco in 1861; presenting himself as a Mussulman, he gained the favour of the enlightened sherif of Wazzan, and was thus enabled to travel over the length and breadth of the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country. He then entered the Sahara and traversed the entire extent of the See also:

Wad Draa, being the second See also:

EUROPEAN

European (the first being Rene Caillie) to visit Tafilet. On leaving Tafilet he was robbed by his guides and See also:

LEFT

left for dead; but two marabouts charitably succoured him and he was able to reach Algeria. When scarcely re-covered from his wounds he started once more for the Sahara (See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August 1862) by way of Algeria. Compelled by tribal disturbances to turn back, he went to See also:

TANGIER (locally TANJAH)

Tangier and thence in See also:

March 1864 made a fresh start. See also:

CROSSING

Crossing the See also:

ATLAS

Atlas by an eastern route he again visited Tafilet, and thence made his way across the See also:

DESERT

desert to the See also:

OASIS (Gr. &toss, the name given by Herodotus to the fertile spots in the Libyan desert: it probably represents an Egyptian word, cf. Coptic ouahe, ouih, to dwell, from which the Egyptian Arabic sod is derived)

oasis of See also:

TUAT

Tuat, which he was the first European to describe. Returning by Ghadarries and See also:

Tripoli he spent three months in See also:

Germany, and then (March 1865) went back to Tripoli, intending to explore the See also:

HIGHLANDS, THE

highlands of the Ahaggar; being prevented, however, by a See also:

war among the See also:

TUAREG, or TAWAREK (more properly Tawarik, the collective form of tarki, from Arabic terek, to give up)

Tuareg, he went from See also:

GHADAMES, GADAMES

Ghadames to Murzuk, where he spent five months, and thence across the Sahara to See also:

BORNU

Bornu, mapping en route the oasis of Kawar. Rohlfs passed through Mandara and its See also:

ancient See also:

capital See also:

Mora, and struck out for the See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of the Gulf of See also:

GUINEA

Guinea.

He reached the See also:

BENUE

Benue by way of the See also:

BAUCHI

Bauchi highlands, and descended that See also:

RIVER

river to its confluence with the See also:

Niger, which he ascended to See also:

RABBA

Rabba. Thence he made his way on horseback to See also:

LAGOS

Lagos, reaching See also:

Liverpool on tae' 2nd of July 1867. In the following See also:

YEAR

year he accompanied the See also:

BRITISH

British expedition against See also:

Theodore of See also:

ABYSSINIA (officially ETHIOPIA)

Abyssinia, and on his return went once more to Tripoli; whence he traversed the See also:

CYRENAICA

Cyrenaica, reaching See also:

EGYPT

Egypt by way of the oasis of See also:

SIWA

Siwa (1869). Returning See also:

home, he married and settled down in See also:

WEIMAR

Weimar. He did not See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest See also:

long, however, for in 1873—74 he took command of an expedition sent by the See also:

KHEDIVE

Khedive See also:

ISMAIL (1830-1895)

Ismail into the Libyan Desert, which made investigations of See also:

GREAT

great value to See also:

SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science. In 1878 Rohlfs and Dr Stecker were commissioned by the German See also:

AFRICAN

African Society to go to See also:

WADAI

Wadai. They succeeded in reaching the oasis of Kufra, one of the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief centres of the Senussites, but being attacked by the See also:

ARABS

Arabs, they were obliged to See also:

RETREAT (O. Fr. retrete, mod. retraite, from Lat. retrahere, to draw back)

retreat, making their way to the coast at Benghazi, reached in See also:

OCTOBER

October 1879. In 188o Rohlfs accompanied Dr Stecker in an exploring expedition to Abyssinia; but after delivering a See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter from the German See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor to the See also:

NEGUS

Negus, he returned to See also:

EUROPE

Europe. In 1885, when the rivalry between the British and Germans in See also:

East See also:

Africa was very. keen, See also:

Prince See also:

Bismarck appointed Rohlfs See also:

consul at See also:

ZANZIBAR

Zanzibar, which See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island Bismarck desired to secure for, Germany. Rohlfs, untrained in See also:

DIPLOMACY (Fr. diplomatic)

diplomacy, was no match for See also:

Sir See also:

John See also:

KIRK, SIR JOHN (1832- )

Kirk, the British See also:

AGENT (from Lat. agere, to act)

Agent, and he wa? soon recalled, and did not again visit Africa. He died at Riingsdorf, near See also:

BONN

Bonn, on the 2nd of See also:

JUNE

June 1896. Rohlfs visited many regions not before traversed by Europeans, and the value of his See also:

WORK

work was recognized in 1868 by the Royal See also:

GEOGRAPHICAL

Geographical Society, which bestowed on him the See also:

PATRON

Patron's See also:

MEDAL (Fr. medaille, from Lat. metallum)

Medal.

Accounts of each of his expeditions, and other See also:

WORKS

works on Africa were published by Rohlfs, including Mein Erster Aufenthalt in Marokko (Bremen, 1873; See also:

ENGLISH

English edition, Travels in Morocco, See also:

LONDON

London, 1874) ; Reise durch Marokko (Bremen, 1868) ; Over durch Afrika (See also:

LEIPZIG

Leipzig, 1874—75); Von Tripolis nach Alexandrien (Bremen, 1871); Expedition zur Erforschung der Libyschen .Wiiste (See also:

Cassel, 1875—76) ; Kufra: Reise von Tripolis nach der Oase Kufra (Leipzig, 1881) ; See also:

LAND

Land and See also:

VOLK, LEONARD WELLS (1828-1895)

Volk in Afrika (Bremen, 187o) ; Quid novi ex Africa? (Cassel, 1886). See also a See also:

BIOGRAPHICAL

biographical See also:

NOTICE

notice by Dr W. Wolkenhauer in the Deutsche geo. Bldtter for 1896.

End of Article: ROHLFS, FRIEDRICH GERHARD (1831—1896)

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