Moritz Wagner (Bayreuth, 3 October 1813 – Munich, 31 May 1887) was a German explorer, collector, geographer and natural historian. Wagner devoted three years (1836–1839) to the exploration of Algiers:[1] it was here that he made important observations in natural history, which he later supplemented and developed: that geographical isolation could play a key role in speciation.
From 1852 to 1855, together with Carl Scherzer, Wagner travelled through North and Central America and the Caribbean. In May 1843, Wagner toured the Lake Sevan region of Armenia with Armenian writer Khachatur Abovian.[2] He committed suicide[how?] in Munich, aged 73.[citation needed] His brother Rudolf was a physiologist and anatomist.