People/geologist, explorer

Ferdinand von Richthofen

Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833–1906), geologist, explorer, scientist, from Germany. Linked to coal.

The lucky break

Between 1868 and 1872 he was the first researcher to travel almost every province of China. His Letters on China (Shanghai, 1870-72) first gave information on the huge coal deposits near Shandong.1

Legacy

Later a professor of geography at Bonn, he developed a systematic geomorphology from his China observations.1

Story cards

Timeline

  1. 1942Benxihu colliery explosion2
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Where next

Events

ExamplesBenxihu colliery explosionRichthofen travelled almost every province of China in 1868 to 1872. Benxihu killed about 1,549 in 1942.2

Sources

  1. Richthofen, Ferdinand Freiherr von Neue Deutsche Biographie / Deutsche Biographie
  2. The world's worst coal mining disasters (China feature, 2026) Mining Technology

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Longwall mining by Bochum1805, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Pictures: Potosi, Bolivia, NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (Public domain (NASA media, no copyright)); Kirunavaara gruva, Kiruna., Fotograf okänd, / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0).