Georg August (Georg) Schweinfurth (1836–1925)

German explorer, botanist, geologist, and palaeontologist. Studied botany in Heidelberg, Munich, and Berlin, 1856–62; DPhil., botany, Heidelberg, 1863. Beginning with his doctoral dissertation on plants of the Nile region, published a series of works on African flora. Made many botanical collecting trips in Africa for the Prussian Academy of Sciences, but also made discoveries in anthropology, geology, and archaeology. Published a popular account of his African travels in 1874. Founded a geographical society in Cairo in 1878.