Heinrich von Kittlitz

Friedrich Heinrich, Freiherr von Kittlitz (16 February 1799 – 10 April 1874) was a German artist, naval officer, explorer and naturalist. He was a descendant of a family of old Prussian nobility ("Freiherr" meaning "independent lord" - ranking with a baron).

Kittlitz sailed round the world between 1826 and 1829 on the Russian Senjawin expedition, under the leadership of Captain Fyodor Petrovich Litke. He provided the museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg with 754 specimens of 314 bird species, including species that subsequently became extinct. Among them are the Kosrae crake (Porzana monasa) and Kosrae starling (Aplonis corvina) which are known only from his specimens. He published Twenty-four Views of the Vegetation of the Coasts and Islands of the Pacific (1844).

Kittlitz travelled to North Africa in 1831 with his friend Eduard Rüppell, but had to return to Germany due to poor health. It was during his time in Egypt whilst waiting for a boat that he collected specimens of the bird which became known as Kittlitz's plover.

Kittlitz's murrelet, Kittlitz's rail, Kittlitz's thrush and Kittlitz's plover are all named for him.

Works

• Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vögel, Frankfurt 1832, 1. Heft
• 24 Vegetationsansichten von den Küstenländern und Inseln des Stillen Ozeans, mit Text, Wiesbaden 1845–1852
• Vegetationsansichten aus den westlichen Sudeten, Frankfurt 1854
• Naturszenen aus Kamtschatka
• Bilder vom Stillen Ozean
• Denkwürdigkeiten einer Reise nach dem russischen Amerika, nach Mikronesien und durch Kamtschatka, Gotha 1858, Band 1, Band 2
• Psychologische Grundlage für eine neue Philosophie der Kunst, Berlin 1863
• Schlußfolgerungen von der Seele des Menschen auf die Weltseele, Mainz 1873
• Ornithologisches Tagebuch. Handschrift mit Aquarellmalereien. 4 Bände (1816-1823).Wissenschaftliche Stadtbibliothek Mainz, Sammlung Moyat, Sign.: Moyat 658

See also

• European and American voyages of scientific exploration