August Heinrich Petermann

August Heinrich Petermann (April 18, 1822 – September 25, 1878), German cartographer, was born at Bleicherode, near Nordhausen.

At the age of seventeen he entered the Geographical School of Art in Potsdam, and in 1845 proceeded to Edinburgh to assist Dr Keith Johnston in the production of an English edition of the Physical Atlas of Berghaus.

In 1847 he came to London, and published among other works, an account of Earth's expedition to Central Africa (1855). In 1854 he became director of the geographical institute of Justus Perthes in Gotha, and founded the well-known Petermanns Mittellungen in 1855. He also edited (together with others) the 4th, 5th and 6th editions of the famous Stielers Handatlas.

His work did much towards elucidating the geography of the interior of Africa and of the North Polar regions. Queen Victoria, at the suggestion of Bunsen, appointed him physical geographer-royal. Petermann died by his own hand at Gotha on the 25th of September 1878.

Literature:

J. Smits: Petermann's Maps. Carto-bibliography of the maps in Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, 1855–1945. 't Goy-Houten, Hes & De Graaf, 2004. ISBN 90–6194–249–7.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.