Ludwig August Robert Rasch (1852 – 31 October 1938) was a German settler in

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

. He was the first resident

Administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

of the island.

Biography

Rasch was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

in 1852.Men who knew yesterday
''

Pacific Islands Monthly ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', commonly referred to as "PIM", was a magazine founded in 1930 in Sydney by New Zealand born journalist R.W. Robson. Background ''Pacific Islands Monthly'' was started in Sydney in 1930. The first issue ran in August ...

'', August 1938, pp36–37 He emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and worked as a sailor for Crawford of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, sailing between the US and Pacific Islands. He was shipwrecked off

Kosrae Kosrae ( ), formerly known as Kusaie or Strong's Island, is an island in the Caroline Islands archipelago, and States of Micronesia, state within the Federated States of Micronesia. It includes the main island of Kosrae, traditionally known as Ual ...

in 1883, after which he gave up sailing and moved to

, where he worked as a trader on behalf of Hernsheim & Co. The day after he arrived in February 1884, he was offered three women by Chief Denuwea, choosing a 15-year-old named Ebagon. He built a home at Arubo in Ewa District and the couple went on to have four children. At the time of Rasch's arrival, Nauru was experiencing a prolonged period of

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Rasch claims that he sent a message to the German authorities in nearby

Jaluit Atoll Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with a ...

requesting that they occupy the island (which had been granted to Germany in the 1886 agreement with the United Kingdom) to stop the violence. When the German ship SMS ''Eber'' subsequently arrived in October 1888, a party of marines was dispatched to the island and confiscated all firearms on the island. Reichskommissar

Franz Leopold Sonnenschein Franz Leopold Sonnenschein (13 July 1817 – 26 February 1879) was a German chemist from Cologne. He taught himself pharmacy, and in the 1830s, established a small laboratory in Berlin. He worked with a physician as tutor for pharmacy students ...

appointed Rasch temporarily as the first island-based representative of the German government. He remained in post until 14 May the following year, when the first formal

Bezirksamtmann Bezirksamtmann (plural ''Bezirksamtleute'') is a German administrative title of gubernatorial or lower rank, roughly translating as equivalent to the British District Officer. It is derived from ''Bezirk'' ("district") + ''Amtmann'' ("official"). ...

, Christian Johannsen, arrived. In 1912 Rasch returned to Germany for a holiday. However, the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

prevented him from returning until 1922, during which time Ebagon had died. He died at his home in Anna on 31 October 1938.Robert Rasch of Nauru dead at 86
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1938, p60

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasch, Robert 1852 births People from Königsberg 19th-century Prussian people German emigrants to the United States German emigrants to Nauru Nauruan businesspeople Administrators of Nauru 1938 deaths