Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff

(1774 - 1852)

Born in Germany in 1774, Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff participated as a naturalist in the Russian expedition commanded by Ivan Krusenstern from 1803 to 1805, during which he visited the Marquesas Islands. In 1821 he persuaded Tsar Alexander I to fund an expedition to the unexplored inland areas of Brazil. After contracting a tropical disease, Langsdorff went insane and was forced to return to Europe in 1829.