Gustav Nachtigal

views updated

Gustav Nachtigal

1834-1885

German physician and explorer who served as personal physician to the ruler of Tunisia and helped Germany establish protectorates in western equatorial Africa. Nachtigal was sent by Kaiser William I to the Kingdom of Bornu, in what is now northern Nigeria. He reached his goal by traveling a route never before taken by a European, crossing through the central Sahara. He later served as German Consul in Tunis.