Heinrich Barth

Lore & Background

Heinrich Barth was born in Hamburg, the third child of Johann Christoph Heinrich Barth and Charlotte Karoline née Zadow. His father, from a relatively poor background, built a successful trading business. Both parents were orthodox Lutherans. From age eleven, Barth attended the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums in Hamburg, excelling at languages and teaching himself some Arabic. He enrolled at the University of Berlin in 1839, attending courses by geographer Karl Ritter and historian Jakob Grimm. After a tour of Italy and other travels, he defended his doctoral thesis on the trade relations of ancient Corinth in July 1844.

Barth formed a plan for a grand tour of North Africa and the Middle East, funded by his father. He left in January 1845, spending two months in London learning Arabic and visiting the British Museum. He traveled through France, Spain, and then to Tangiers in August 1845. He crossed North Africa, Egypt, the Sinai, Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Turkey, and Greece, examining antiquities. He returned to Hamburg in December 1847. He later joined an expedition led by James Richardson, departing Tripoli in early 1850. After the deaths of Richardson and Adolf Overweg, Barth completed the scientific mission alone, traveling over 12,000 miles across the Sahara, Sudan, and West Africa, including visits to Agadez, Adamawa, and Timbuktu.

Reader's Guide

Barth's significance lies in his methodical and scholarly approach to exploration. Unlike earlier European explorers, he had academic training and fluency in Arabic and several African languages, including Fulani, Hausa, and Kanuri. He established friendships with African rulers and scholars, and his careful documentation of oral traditions, topography, history, and cultures provided an invaluable source for the study of 19th-century Sudanic Africa. His five-volume work, Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, was cited by Darwin and remains an important scientific work. Barth was the first European to provide evidence that the Sahara had once been a savanna. Despite his achievements, his admission to the Prussian Academy of Sciences was denied, as it was claimed he had achieved nothing for historiography and linguistics—a judgment later overturned by scholars. He received the Patron's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1856 and was made a Companion of the Bath by the British government in 1862.

Did You Know?

• Barth was the first European to enter the city of Agadez, where a memorial tablet honors him.
• He was the first European to visit Adamawa in 1851.
• Barth's five-volume account of his travels included colored plates based on his original sketches by Martin Bernatz.
• A species of African venomous snake, Polemon barthii, is named in his honor.