Anton Rehmann

Who was Anton Rehmann?

Anton Rehmann aka Antoni Rehman was an Austrian geographer, geomorphologist, botanist and explorer. He published mostly in German journals in Austria and is regarded as an Austrian botanist, as Galicia was at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Anton was the son of master chimney sweeps Józef Rehman and Anna Piotrowski. From 1860 to 1863 he studied science and geography at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and in 1864 was awarded a PhD. in Botany, after specialising in the bryophytes. In 1865 he explored the steppes of Podolia, the banks of the Dniester and the Tschornohora Mountains in the Ukraine. In 1866-67 he studied the anatomy of plants in Munich with Carl Wilhelm von Naegeli. In 1868 he traveled through southern Russia and a year later was appointed professor of Plant Anatomy at the University of Krakow.

Between 1873 and 1874 he traveled to the Caucasus and the Crimea. He traveled through South Africa from 1875-77 and again from 1879-80, becoming acquainted with the San, the Khoikhoi, and the Bantu. While in South Africa he collected over 9 000 specimens, and Ignaz von Szyszylowicz made a start in their listing.