Baron Ferdinand Paul Wilhelm von Richthofen

1833-1905

German Explorer and Geographer

Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen conducted important explorations of China and eastern Asia. In addition, as a professor of geography, he launched the study of geomorphology (the study of the Earth's surface features) and he had a significant influence on the field of physical geography.

Richthofen was born into an aristocratic family in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1833. He attended universities in Wroclaw, Poland (at that time, Breslau, Germany), and in Berlin. He left on his first journey of exploration in 1860, joining a Prussian expedition to East Asia and on to Java, Siam, Burma, and finally California in 1863. In 1868 he left for Asia again, exploring parts of China and Japan, and returning to Germany in 1872.

Upon his return, Richthofen became a professor of geology at Bonn in 1875. He later became a professor of geology at Leipzig in 1883, and Berlin from 1886 on. In these posts, he helped to found the study of landforms, called geomorphology, and helped to make physical geography into a scientific study by investigating the effects of the atmosphere, underlying geology, hydrology, and other factors at work upon the earth's surface.

Richthofen's first major contribution to the science of geography was his 1883 lecture, "On the Problems and Methods of Modern Geography," given at his inauguration as Chair of Geography at the University of Leipzig. In this address he set forth the limits of geography—that it is the study of the surface of the Earth. From there, he pointed out that one could look at the Earth's surface in one of two ways—mathematically or physically. Viewed as a mathematical surface, geographers are interested in measuring distances, drawing borders, determining elevations, and so forth. When viewed as a material surface, on the other hand, geographers must also consider the forces acting on that surface that can cause it to alter its shape and properties. In this view, the surface interacts with the atmosphere (through weathering and weather-related phenomena), the hydrosphere (erosion by rivers, formation of lakes, and so forth), living organisms (what we now call the biosphere, which can act to shape the surface), and with the underlying geology, or lithosphere (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, etc.).

Finally, Richthofen also pointed out that humans were beginning to shape the face of the Earth through their activities. One example of such human impact may be seen in the mountains of the Philippines, where the land is so heavily terraced for rice cultivation that the mountain's original outlines have been altered for at least a thousand years.

In this address and his subsequent writings and teaching, Richthofen helped to open what was described as a new epoch in geographical studies. He provided the first systematic survey of the entire field of geography and the first critical assessment of what it could—and should—accomplish. In a sense, Richthofen helped to turn geography into a true science, rather than simply a set of maps and descriptions of observations.

Although the idea of "multidisciplinary" research is largely considered a product of the late twentieth century, it is obviously something that Richthofen realized the importance of a century earlier. By recognizing and drawing attention to the need to integrate diverse studies of geological, hydrological, meteorological, biological, and human factors at work on the Earth's surface, he was ahead of his time. Richthofen died in 1905 in Berlin at the age of 72.

P. ANDREW KARAM