Karl Weyprecht

Infobox Military Person
name=Karl Weyprecht


caption=
born=September 8, 1838
died=March 3, 1881
placeofbirth=Bad König
(alternatively: Michelstadt in Odenwald, Germany)
placeofdeath=Michelstadt
nickname=
allegiance=
branch= Austro-Hungarian Navy
serviceyears=
rank="k.u.k. Linienschiffsleutnant"
unit=
commands=Co-led, with Julius von Payer, the 1872-1874 Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition that discovered Franz Josef Land
battles=Austro-Sardinian War
Battle of Lissa (1866)
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

Karl Weyprecht, also spelt Carl Weyprecht, was born on September 8, 1838, in Bad König (alternatively in Michelstadt in Odenwald, Germany), and died March 3, 1881 in Michelstadt. He was an officer ("k.u.k. Linienschiffsleutnant") in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. He is most famous as an Arctic explorer, and an advocate of international cooperation for scientific polar exploration. Although he did not live to see it occur, he is associated with the organisation of the first International Polar Year.

In 1856, he joined the Austro-Hungarian Navy ("Kriegsmarine") as a provisional sea cadet. He served in the Austro-Sardinian War. From 1860 to 1862, he served on the frigate "Radetzky" under the command of Admiral Tegetthoff. From 1863 to 1865, he was instructional officer on the training ship "Hussar."

On July 23, 1865, he became known to the German geographer August Petermann at a meeting of the "Geographic Society" in Frankfurt.

He served in the July 20, 1866 sea battle at Lissa aboard the battleship "Drache".

He met Julius von Payer in 1870 and made a preliminary expedition with Payer to Novaya Zemlya in 1871.

On February 18, 1872, Weyprecht gained citizenship in Austria-Hungary.

He co-led with Julius von Payer the 1872-1874 Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition which discovered Franz Josef Land in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition's ship "Admiral Tegetthoff" was abandoned in the pack ice. The expedition then moved on sledges to go further north, then to open water, and used boats to reach the Black Cape of Novaya Zemlya, where they were able to eventually contact a Russian schooner "Nikolaj" under Captain Feodor Veronin, and get to Vardø, Norway, where they took the mail boat south and eventually returned to Vienna.

On September 18, 1875, he addressed the 48th Meeting of German Scientists and Physicians in Graz, Austria. He reported the "basic principles of Arctic research" and suggested that fixed Arctic observation stations should be established. [cite web |url=http://members.eunet.at/castaway/history/history.html |title=History of the Austrian Polar Exploration |accessdate=2008-04-22 |last=Koerbel |first=Hermann F. |date=2003 |work= |publisher=eunet.at] According to Weyprecht it was important to organize a network of Arctic stations taking regular measurements of weather and ice conditions with identical devices and at preestablished intervals. [ [http://www.vitiaz.ru/congress/en/thesis/98.html Russian-Soviet polar stations and their role in the Arctic Seas exploration "Romanenko, O. Shilovtseva (Moscow State University, Geographical Department)"] ]

In 1879, he presented these ideas, along with George Neumayer's to the 2nd International Congress of Meteorologists in Rome.

Karl Weyprecht died of tuberculosis in 1881.

See also

* The Austro-Hungarian polar expedition led by Weyprecht was selected as main motif for the Austrian Admiral Tegetthoff Ship and The Polar Expedition commemorative coin minted in June 8 2005. The reverse side of the coin shows two explorers in Arctic gear with the frozen ship "Admiral Tegetthoff" behind them.

References

Bibliography

* Karl Weyprecht, "Die Metamorphosen des Polareises. Österr.-Ung. Arktische Expedition 1872-1874" (The Metamorphosis of Polar Ice. The Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition of 1872-1874)
* Julius von Payer "New Lands within the Arctic Circle" (1876)
* [http://www.poeschek.at Andreas Pöschek] : "Geheimnis Nordpol. Die Österreichisch-Ungarische Nordpolexpedition 1872-1874." - Wien: 1999 ( [http://www.poeschek.at/de/research/index.php download as PDF] )