Gustav Nachtigal

Gustav Nachtigal was a German explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empires consulgeneral for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland and Kamerun becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire. The GustavNachtigalMedal, awarded by the Berlin Geographical Society, is named after him.

Gustav Nachtigal, the son of a Lutheran pastor, was born at Eichstedt in the Prussian province of SaxonyAnhalt. After medical studies at the universities of Halle, Wrzburg and Greifswald, he practiced for several years as a military surgeon. He worked in Cologne, Germany. Nachtigal contracted a lung disease and relocated to Annaba in Algeria in October, 1862. He also went to Tunis in North Africa and took part, as a surgeon, in several expeditions into Central Africa. It was in Tunis where he learned to speak Arabic.

Source: Wikipedia