Adolf Schlagintweit

Adolf Schlagintweit (9 January 1829 - 26 August 1857 was a German explorer of Central Asia.

The second of the five Schlagintweit brothers of Munich, his earliest work was scientific study in the Alps, 1846-1848, along with his brother Hermann. They established their reputation with the Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie der Alpen(1850), and were aftewards joined by brother Robert; the three jointly published Neue Untersuchungen uber die physikalische Geographie und Geologie der Alpen in 1854.

In 1854, acting on the recommendation of Alexander von Humboldt, the East India Company commissioned Hermann, Adolf, and Robert to make scientific investigations in their territory, and particularly to study the Earth's magnetic field. For the next three years, they travelled through the Deccan, then up into the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Kunlun mountains.

While Hermann and Robert returned from their travels in early 1857, Adolf remained for further exploration, but was put to death by the amir of Kashgar in August of that year.

Reference

• "Schlagintweit", 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica