Adalbert Krech

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Captain Adalbert Krech

Adalbert Krech (born March 21, 1852 in Berlin ; † May 6, 1907 on the Atlantic Ocean ) was a German captain of the Hamburg-American Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft ( HAPAG ). From 1898 to 1899 he was the nautical leader of the German deep-sea expedition with the research vessel Valdivia . When he died on the high seas in 1907, he was considered to be the captain with the most medals on the Atlantic.

Life

Adalbert Krech was born in 1852 as the son of the later director of the Berlin Friedrichs-Gymnasium Adolf Ferdinand Krech (1803-1869) and his wife Rosalie Wilhelmine Sophie Ernestine Ottilie von Schwerin (1811-1867). He began his nautical career in 1866 as a cabin boy. In 1874 he received his helmsman's license and in 1879 his master's license from the Altona seafaring school . By 1890 he rose from 4th officer to captain at HAPAG on a long voyage . He first drove on a whaler , later in the Black Sea between Turkey and Romania and was ultimately one of the most famous captains of the Hamburg-America Line.

As captain of the steamer Suevia , he saved the eight-man crew of the American schooner Mary E. Amsden during a hurricane in the North Atlantic on February 26, 1895 and received the life-saving medals from Prussia and Saxony as well as a valuable silver cup from US President Grover Cleveland . Then he was captain of the Alesia .

The Valdivia 1898

In 1898, the German Deep Sea Expedition was looking for an experienced captain who could cope with the complicated maneuvers involved in dredging at depths of up to 5000 meters. The choice fell on Adalbert Krech, who made a significant contribution to the success of the expedition with his skills. The Valdivia sailed for nine months and crossed the Atlantic and Indian Oceans . A gelotetes on November 7, 1898 Deep in the Guinea basin (5695 m) today bears Krechs name. On November 25, 1898, he succeeded in rediscovering Bouvet Island , which was last seen in 1825, and finally determined its geographical location exactly. Although the ship was not suitable for ice, Krech managed to advance to the 64th parallel off Enderbyland , where he carried out a risky dredging move lasting several hours at a depth of 4,636 m. Out of gratitude, the zoologist August Brauer named a bizarre deep-sea fish in his honor, Melanocetus krechi . The successful expedition brought Captain Krech further awards, honorary membership and the medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society as well as the Red Eagle Order IV class, which Kaiser Wilhelm II bestowed on him.

On his last voyage with the Graf Waldersee - Krech was then to lead HAPAG's most modern ship, the twin-screw mail steamer President Lincoln - he left the port of Hamburg on April 27, 1907, heading to New York . He was sick while stopping over in Plymouth . The ship's doctor Dr. Lubbert diagnosed pneumonia and sent him to the cabin. A week later, Adalbert Krech died in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. His body was embalmed in New York and sent back to Hamburg for burial. Krech left a wife and two grown sons; a doctor of chemistry and an officer in the German army.

Captain Krech was the most medal-decorated captain on the Atlantic. For sea rescues he was awarded by "half of the European rulers" . He wore the Saxon Albrechts Order II. Class as well as the Ottoman Mecidiye Order II. Class. The Emperor of Japan awarded him the life-saving medal and the Chinese government the Chinese commemorative medal .

literature

  • Carl Chun: From the depths of the ocean . 2nd revised and greatly increased edition. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1903 (Online: edoc server of the Humboldt University of Berlin ).
  • Kept the Bridge When Mortally Ill. Capt. Krech, Though Delirious, Fought to Bring the Graf Waldersee Into Port . In: The New York Times , May 11, 1907 (Online: NY Times , pdf)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c The New York Times , May 11, 1907
  2. ↑ Drowned Trying to Save , In: New York Times , March 5, 1895, accessed February 9, 2010
  3. ^ Rewarded for Bravery . In: The San Francisco Call , October 17, 1895, accessed February 9, 2010
  4. ↑ Scott. Geographer. Mag. 16, 1900, p. 296
  5. ^ Walter Sachse: Storm warnings by sea birds . In: Ornithological monthly reports 6, 1898, pp. 105–111
  6. ^ List of Honorary Members of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, accessed March 28, 2018
  7. ↑ 1907 Deaths - June . In: Brooklyn Standard Union , June 1, 1907, accessed January 24, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Krech, Adalbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German captain
DATE OF BIRTH March 21, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 1907
Place of death Atlantic Ocean