Karl Eduard Robert Hartmann (8 October 1832 – 1893) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

Career

A native of Blankenburg am Harz, Hartmann studied medicine and sciences in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and in 1865 was an instructor of comparative

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

at the agricultural academy in Proskau. In 1873 he became a professor of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. During his career, he performed ethnographical and

geographical Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

research in Africa, and conducted studies on the anatomy of marine species while working in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 1859-60 he accompanied Adalbert von Barnim (1841-1860), the son of Adalbert of Prussia (1811-1873), on a mission to northeastern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

(

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

). Here he performed ethnographical,

zoological Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and geographical studies in the region. On the journey, Adalbert von Barnim became ill and died on 12 June 1860 at Roseires in the Sudan. Hartmann wrote about his experiences regarding the expedition in a book titled ''Reise des Freiherrn von Barnim durch nord-ost-Afrika in den Jahren 1859 und 1860'' (1863). In 1869, with

Adolf Bastian Adolf Philipp Wilhelm Bastian (26 June 18262 February 1905) was a 19th-century polymath remembered best for his contributions to the development of ethnography and the development of anthropology as a discipline. His theory of the ''Elementargedan ...

(1826-1905), he founded the ''Zeitschrift für Ethnologie'' (Journal of Ethnology). He served as secretary of the ''Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte '' (Berlin Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory) and was general secretary of the ''Anthropologischen Gesellschaft'' (Anthropological Society). He penned a number of articles on Africa, as well as a book on anthropoid apes, a treatise in which he describes the behaviour of non-human apes and suggests that humans and non-human apes have an evolutionary common ancestor.
Anthropoid Apes by Robert Hartmann, pp. 305-306

Selected publications

* ''Naturgeschichtlich-medizinische skizze der Nilländer'' (Berlin 1865-66) * ''Die Nigritier'' (Berlin. 1876, Bd. 1) * ''Die Völker Afrikas'' (Leipzig 1880); (The peoples of Africa) (1880) * ''Handbuch der Anatomie des Menschen'' (Handbook of human anatomy) (1881) * ''Der Gorilla'' (

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

1881) * ''Die menschenähnlichen Affen'' (Anthropoid apes) (Leipzig 1883) * ''Abessinien und die Nilländer'' (

Abyssinia Abyssinia (; also known as Abyssinie, Abissinia, Habessinien, or Al-Habash) was an ancient region in the Horn of Africa situated in the northern highlands of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, ...

and The

Nile Valley The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

) (1883) * ''Madagaskar und die Inseln Seychellen, Aldabra, Komoren und Maskarenen'' (

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the Islands of the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Aldabra Aldabra, the world's second-largest coral atoll (the largest is Kiritimati), is located east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands (Seychelles), Outer Islands ...

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

and Mascarenes) (Leipzig 1886).

References

* This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

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External links

de.Wikisource
(bibliography of Hartmann) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann, Robert 1832 births 1893 deaths People from Blankenburg (Harz) Scientists from the Duchy of Brunswick German ethnographers German naturalists 19th-century German explorers German explorers of Africa Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin