Ferdinand von Richthofen

Ferdinand von Richthofen
Born(1833-05-05)5 May 1833
Died6 October 1905(1905-10-06) (aged 72)
NationalityGerman
Alma materUniversity of Breslau
University of Berlin
AwardsWollaston Medal (1892)
Vega Medal (1903)
Scientific career
FieldsGeography
InstitutionsUniversity of Bonn
University of Leipzig
University of Berlin
Doctoral studentsSven Hedin
Alfred Philippson
Arthur Berson
Wilhelm Sievers
Signature

Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen (5 May 1833 – 6 October 1905), better known in English as Baron von Richthofen, was a German traveller, geographer, and scientist. He is noted for coining the terms "Seidenstraße" and "Seidenstraßen" = "Silk Road(s)" or "Silk Route(s)" in 1877.[1][2][3] He also standardized the practices of chorography and chorology. He was an uncle of the World War I flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, best known as the "Red Baron".

  1. ^ See:
    • Richthofen, Ferdinand von (1877). "Über die zentralasiatischen Seidenstrassen bis zum 2. Jh. n. Chr" [On the Central Asian Silk Roads until the 2nd century A.D.]. Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin (in German). 4: 96–122.
    • Richthofen, Ferdinand von (1877). China. Ergebnisse eigener Reisen und darauf gegründeter Studien [China. Findings of My Own Travels and Studies Based Thereon] (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin, Germany: Dietrich Reimer. pp. 496–507. From p. 496: "Ergänzende Nachrichten über den westlichen Theil einer der früheren Seidenstrassen erhalten wir wiederum durch MARINUS, der hier ganz seinem Berichterstatter, dem Agenten des Macedoniers MAËS (s. oben S. 478), folgt." (On the other hand, we obtain additional information about the western part of one of the earlier Silk Roads via Marinus, who here closely follows his correspondent, the agent of the Macedonian Maës (see p. 478 above).)
  2. ^ "Approaches Old and New to the Silk Roads" Vadime Elisseeff in: The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce. Paris (1998) UNESCO, Reprint: Berghahn Books (2000), pp. 1-2. ISBN 92-3-103652-1; ISBN 1-57181-221-0; ISBN 1-57181-222-9 (pbk)
  3. ^ Waugh, Daniel. (2007). "Richthofen's "Silk Roads": Toward the Archaeology of a Concept." The Silk Road. Volume 5, Number 1, Summer 2007, p. 4.