Heinrich Horstmann (businessman)
Heinrich Horstmann (born October 30, 1874 in Heessen , † May 4, 1945 in Berlin ) was a German businessman. In 1895 he attempted to circumnavigate the world by bicycle , using Frank G. Lenz as his model.
The trained blacksmith started with little luggage in Dortmund , cycled to the Belgian coast, crossed to England and from there traveled by ship to America. He crossed the USA in an east-west direction, where he orientated himself on the route of the Southern Pacific Railroad for lack of maps and directed his attention among other things to the beer prices of the country, which he always carefully noted. The killing of an armed vagabond , against whom he believed he had to defend his pocket watch, was kept secret by Horstmann in his travelogue published in 1898. He embarked again in San Francisco to visit Tokyo and Singapore.
In Calcutta he decided not to cross India because of a cholera epidemic and returned to his homeland after 27 months through Egypt, Italy and Austria.
Horstmann later moved to Berlin and earned a lot of money as a representative for a bicycle manufacturer. He also traded in wine and cigars.
Fonts
- Heinrich Horstmann: My bike tour around the world. The report of the first German bicycle world traveler in 1895 (from May 2, 1895 to August 16, 1897). Maxime-Verlag, Leipzig 2000, ISBN 978-3-931965-06-8 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Heinrich Horstmann in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Horstmann, Heinrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German cyclist, businessman and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 30, 1874 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Heessen |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 4, 1945 |
| Place of death | Berlin |