Hermann von Rosenberg
Carl Benjamin Hermann Baron von Rosenberg (born April 7, 1817 in Darmstadt , † November 15, 1888 in The Hague ) was a German naturalist, geographer and zoologist. His field of work was the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia ).
Adolescent years
Born as the son of Colonel Karl Ferdinand von Rosenberg from the Hesse region, he was initially destined for a career in the military at the request of his father. Even as a teenager, however, he showed a preference for nature studies and for depictions of foreign countries and peoples. After graduating from high school, his uncle, the Darmstadt zoologist Johann Jakob Kaup , who was assisting in the local museum at the time, introduced him to the zoology studies and aroused his interest in ornithology .
First stay in the Dutch East Indies
At the beginning of 1839 von Rosenberg traveled to the Netherlands . Driven by an irrepressible desire to see the tropics with his own eyes, he was recruited in Harderwijk to serve in the Royal Dutch-East Indian Army . On November 23, 1839 he embarked in Hellevoetsluis in the East Indies . It was not until May 2, 1840, after a stay of several weeks at St. George d'Elmina on the west coast of Africa, that he reached his destination, the Dutch East Indies.
Sumatra
No sooner had he arrived in the Dutch East Indies than he was directed to Padang on the west coast of Sumatra to assist young chicken with his investigations in the Batak countries . On October 2, 1840, the two researchers reached the bay of Tapanuli on a merchant sailing boat, where a Dutch fort was located on a small island in front of today's city of Sibolga . On the afternoon of October 14th, von Rosenberg got lost on a hunting trip in the primeval forests of West Sumatra, whereupon he had such a violent attack of fever that he was taken to the nearest Dutch military post as quickly as possible by the young chicken's local companions. Von Rosenberg's health was so affected that he had to give up accompanying and assisting young fowl.
After his recovery, von Rosenberg served as a sergeant in Pertibie, a remote outpost east of the central mountains in the hot and monotonous landscape of Padang Lava. Not far from the junction of the Paneh and Burumon (or Barumun) rivers, he visited the ruins from Hindu times already mentioned by Junghuhn and provided a detailed description of them. After the post in Pertibie was suspended on April 14, 1843, the garrison was moved to Tobing, at the southern foot of the Dolok Lubuk Raya volcano, northwest of today's city of Padang Sidempuan .
From here, von Rosenberg took part in two campaigns against rebellious Batak villages: from January 29 to February 16, 1844 into the valley of the upper reaches of the Batang Toru, from July 15 to August 6, following the footsteps of young fowl through the lands of Sipirok and Silantom to the edge of the Toba plateau. The way back ran through the Silinden valley to Tapanuli near the bay of the same name on the west coast. On October 19, 1844, von Rosenberg was transferred to the post Siboga, from which the city of Sibolga later emerged.
In the following years he expanded his research area in Sumatra far beyond that of young fowl. Ornithology has always been his personal preference . In the remaining free time, however, he did not miss any opportunity to pursue ethnological and other scientific studies. In 1845, 1849, 1850 and 1852 to 1856 he traveled to the so-called "Padanger Oberland", the home of the Minangkabau in the mountains of Central Sumatra , in 1847, 1849 and 1852 the Mentawai Islands , Enggano and the west coast near Bengkulu . In 1853 he conducted research in Singkel on the northwest coast of Sumatra and on the offshore Banyak Islands , and in 1854 on the island of Nias .
The most important results of his 16-year stay in Sumatra include his studies and terrain surveys in the Singkel province, which contained new information in many scientific disciplines, and the first complete geographical and ethnological representation of the island chain off the west coast of Sumatra, from Simeuluë in the north to Enggano in the south.
- Illustrations from the book The Malay Archipelago
The roadstead of Padang on the west coast of Sumatra
Inhabitants of the island of Siberut and the Pagai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra
House in the north of the island of Nias off the west coast of Sumatra
House in the south of the island of Nias off the west coast of Sumatra
Praue of the Mentawai islanders off the west coast of Sumatra
The steamship Etna in front of the Arfak Mountains (New Guinea)
Batavia, Moluccas, New Guinea, Celebes
In 1856 von Rosenberg was promoted to Adjutant-NCO and appointed to the Topographical Bureau in Batavia . As assistant to the Dutch government commission, but not least in his capacity as a brilliant draftsman, he undertook a scientific trip to the Moluccas and New Guinea on board the SM steamship Etna in 1858 . On February 2, 1859, he switched to civil service as an official for geodetic and scientific investigations, was appointed head of government of the Moluccan island of Seram and was commissioned by the governor of the Moluccas to design a map of the island of Seram. Several times he crossed this island on foot.
On July 3, 1860, von Rosenberg sailed on a rented "Orembai", a small local schooner-like ship, from Wahai on the north coast of Serams to the little-known "Papuan" islands off the west coast of New Guinea. Misool , Salawati , Batanta and Waigeu were visited and especially researched zoologically.
The most significant support of his natural science inclinations was a resolution of the Dutch-Indian Governor General on June 4, 1862 with the aim of enriching the natural history collections in Batavia; With him, von Rosenberg received the order from the highest authority to undertake trips for the purpose of natural history investigations. He chose the Moluccan island of Amboina (or Ambon ) as a new location . From here he traveled to Gorontalo on Celebes . After crossing the northern arm of this island, he reached the port of Kwandang on the north coast and from there in a westerly direction Sumalatta. His stay there ended with investigations at Lake Limbotto and in the Bone settlement in the Gorontalo area.
A warship brought him to the Togian Islands in the Gulf of Tomini . He then sought recovery from a rheumatic disease in the hot springs at Lake Tondano in the interior of the Minahassa landscape, which was already well developed at the time . A three-month recovery stay on Java followed, during which he visited the Botanical Garden in Buitenzorg .
Having recovered health, von Rosenberg traveled again to the east of the archipelago. From January 6th to October 5th, 1865 he explored ethnologically and zoologically the Aru , "Southeast" and Kei Islands .
- Illustrations from the book Reistocht in de Afdeeling Gorontalo
Gorontalo (Celebes): officer and headgear
Gorontalo (Celebes): dancer (left) and dancer (right) of the Radja von Gorontalo
Two views of Mount OEMalatta (Celebes).
View of Mount Kabila, house in Bone (Celebes).
Recovery in Europe
These extended journeys to many lands that were previously barely visited were not without health consequences. In January 1866 he had to take a convalescence leave to Europe. In his home town of Darmstadt, he married Karoline Elisabeth Louise von Breidenbach zu Breidenstein on April 28, 1867.
Second stay in the Dutch East Indies
New Guinea
Von Rosenberg returned to India at the beginning of 1868. From Ternate he visited New Guinea again , where he geographically and ethnologically explored the coasts and islands of the Geelvink Bay. As "one of the best parts" of his travel book The Malay Archipelago , his reports about the Papuans were considered based on his observations in Dorej and its surroundings; they were among the most detailed that had been published about the Papua up to that point ( Das Auslands. 1880, p. 124 ff.).
- Illustrations from the book Reistochen naar de Geelvinkbaai op Nieuw-Guinea
Great Mosque on Ternate (Moluccas)
Grave of the Moluccan explorer Bernstein on Ternate
Men of Hattam, New Guinea
Cassowary (New Guinea)
Warefondi Village (New Guinea)
Roemsaro village, New Guinea
The Andai River, New Guinea
Arfak house in Andai, New Guinea
Man of Hattam
Birds in New Guinea
Return to Europe
In 1871 von Rosenberg was finally forced to leave the island of India for health reasons. After his official release and receipt of his retirement, he returned to Europe via Egypt. In Darmstadt he wrote his main German-language work The Malay Archipelago , which deserves an outstanding position as a classic among scientific travel books on the island of India. Because his right hand was mutilated, he dictated the text to a chamber stenographer.
In 1875 he moved to 's-Gravenhage in order to evaluate the collections he had stored in the Netherlands. He donated part of his collections to the Natural History Museum in Darmstadt.
After three weeks in sick bed, on the evening of November 15, 1888, von Rosenberg died in 's-Gravenhage. Five days later, according to his wishes, he was buried in the family crypt in Darmstadt. His widow survived him by more than 30 years.
Works
Books
- Traveled in de Afdeeling Gorontalo, gedaan op last der Nederlandsch Indian Regering, by CBH von Rosenberg, Ambtenaar charged with a natural Onderzoek. Amsterdam, Frederik Muller, 1865. VIII, 162 p., 1 unnumbered sheet. 2 parts in 1 volume. With 9 partly colored lithographic plates and a multi-fold colored map (in 2 parts).
- Reis naar de Zuidoostereilanden, given by the Regering van Nederlandsch-Indië door CBH von Rosenberg, Ambtenaar charged with a natural Onderzoek. 's-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff. 1867. Xl, 125 p. With 7 partly colored plates.
- Travel to the Geelvinkbaai op Nieuw-Guinea in the years 1869 and 1870, by CBH von Rosenberg, Ambtenaar loaded with wetenschappelijke Onderzoekingen in Nederlandsch-Indië. Uitgegeven door het Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië. Met Kaarten en Afbeeldingen. 's-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff. 1875. XXIV, 153 p. With 21 partly colored plates (including a sheet-sized and a folded colored map).
The Malay Archipelago. Descriptions of the country and its people, collected during a thirty-year stay in the colonies of H. von Rosenberg, Königigl. Dutch East Indian government official i. P. Knight of several orders, member of various learned societies. With numerous illustrations mostly based on the author's originals and a foreword by Professor PJ Veth in Leiden. Leipzig. Publishing house by Gustav Weigel. 1878. - 1 unnumbered sheet title, VI S. dedication and preface, XVI S. preface, table of contents, list of illustrations, S. (7) -615 (pagination incorrect!), 1 unnumbered page publisher's advertisement. With a portrait of the author as the title picture, 8 (6 full-page) wood engraving illustrations on 7 boards paginated on both sides, 56 wood engraving illustrations in the text, 1 map that can be folded out several times, "Landweg von Gorontalo nach Kwandang recorded and drawn by H. von Rosenberg." And 1 double-leaf-sized "plan of the Buitenzorg plant garden."
Smaller fonts
Numerous articles have been published in the following journals:
- Negotiations of the Bataviaasch Genootschap
- Tijdschrift voor Neerlands Indie
- Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië
- Works by van't K. Instituut voor Indian taal-, land- and folklore
- Jaarboekje van het Koninklijk Zoölogisch Genootschap te Amsterdam
Ornithological essays
Some of Rosenberg's ornithological essays were published in the communications of the Ornithological Association in Vienna and in French specialist journals.
literature
- Rosenberg's work The Malay Archipelago : Author's preface with a short autobiography (pp. III – VI) and preface by PJ Veth (pp. I – XII; incorrect page counting because this article, which is included after the preface, begins with page I).
- Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff; Leiden: EJ Brill;
- 1st edition, derde deel (1902), p. 461,
- 2nd edition, derde deel (1919), pp. 636-637.
- Th. CL Wijnmalen: Carl Benjamin Hermann Baron von Rosenberg. A biographical sketch. In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië. Born 1889, pp. 130–143 ( obituary )
- John Bastin, Bea Brommer: Nineteenth Century prints and illustrated books of Indonesia . Utrecht 1979. pp. 39–40 and 332 as well as n. 584, n. 614, n. 615, n. 616, n. 617 and n. 619. - ISBN 90-274-9628-5
- German Review for Geography and Statistics XII. Volume, Hartleben's Vlg., Vienna 1890, pp. 236–238 (obituary)
- Kurt Schleucher: Expeditions in the Malay Archipelago. Hermann von Rosenberg In: Kurt Schleucher (Hrsg.): Darmstädter outside. Your life abroad. On the 650th anniversary of the city of Darmstadt (1330–1980) Darmstadt, Turris-Vlg., 1980, pp. 229–242.
- Wilhelm Stricker: Rosenberg, Hermann von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 29, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, pp. 203 f. - Contains numerous errors!
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rosenberg, Hermann von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rosenberg, Carl Benjamin Hermann Baron von; Rosenberg, Carl B. von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German naturalist in Indonesia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 7, 1817 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Darmstadt |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 15, 1888 |
| Place of death | The hague |