Person
Koettlitz, Reginald (1860 - 1916)
- Born
- 23 December 1860
Ostend, Belgium - Died
- January 1916
Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Occupation
- Antarctic explorer and Physician
Summary
Reginald Koettlitz was a medical practitioner who trained at Guy's Hospital, London. His first polar experience was as surgeon with the Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition to Franz Josef Land, during which he learned valuable polar survival techniques. His geological studies on this Expedition earned him membership of the Royal Geographical Society, London. Between 1898 and his appointment to the British National Antarctic Expedition in 1901 he travelled in Abyssinia, Somaliland and Brasil. As surgeon and botanist on the Antarctic expedition, Koettlitz devoted much time to pioneering studies of the lichens, mosses and phytoplankton of the region, and was the first to describe the flora of Ross Island. Many of his collections from the Expedition are in the Natural History Museum, London. He also took the first coloured photographs in Antarctica. After the Expedition he practiced in South Africa. Koettlitz Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago and Koettlitz Glacier, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, were named in his honour.
Details
Chronology
- 1888
- Education - Qualified as physician, Guy's Hospital, London
- 1888 - 1894
- Career event - In practice, Butterknowle, County Durham, United Kingdom
- 1894 - 1897
- Career position - Physician and geologist, Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition to Franz Josef Land
- 1898
- Life event - Travelling in Abyssinia and Somaliland
- 1900
- Life event - Travelling in Brasil
- 1901 - 1904
- Career position - Surgeon and botanist, British National Antarctic Expedition
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Jones, Aubrey A., Scott's forgotten surgeon: Dr Reginald Koettlitz, polar explorer (Dunbeath, Scotland: Whittles Publishing, 2011), 209 pp. Details
Journal Articles
Helen Cohn
Created: 24 September 2024