User:Metaknight1708/sandbox/1

= Schlagintweit (family) =

The Schlagintweit family was a non-noble family from Munich, present-day Germany. The most famous members of the family were the Schlagintweit brothers Hermann, Adolf, Eduard, Robert and Emil, who were all scholars and/or explorers. The genus of flowering plants Schlagintweitia was named by August Grisebach after the brothers.

History
The origins of the family are disputed. A possible ancestor is Hangraf Stephan Schlagindweit, an Austrian merchant who was executed on August 11th, 1522, due to his opposition to the rule of Archduke Ferdinand I, in addition to his involement in (and support of) what was called the "Weiner Nustadt blood court".

The Schlangintweit brothers, the son of a wealthy eye-surgeon living in Munich, had a privileged childhood and scholarly upbringing, tutored by all manner of scientists and teachers.

The two eldest brothers, Hermann and Adolf, established themselves in the scientific community with Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie der Alpen (1850), a scientific study of the Alps. Robert later joined his brothers, the three jointly publishing Neue Untersuchungen über die physikalische Geographie und Geologie der Alpen (1854). Alexander von Humboldt's Cosmos proved to be an inspiration behind these endeavors and for their recruitment by the British East India Company.

In 1854, three of the Schlagintweit brothers (Hermann, Adolf and Robert) were recruited by the British East India Company to explore the northern reaches of the British Raj and study the magnetic fields of the area, especially among mountains of the Himalayas and the previously uncrossed Kunlun Mountains. Their other explorations also included the Deccan and Karakoram.

With their journey together ended, the brothers went their separate ways. Hermann and Robert went to Nepal before going back home to Europe. In Europe, Hermann and Robert would co-publish Results of a Scientific Mission to India and High Asia in four volumes between 1860 and 1866. Both of them would retire to teaching jobs in Germany.

Adolf, however, decided to start his own expedition, this time going across the then mysterious region of Aksai Chin. Following the Karakash River into Turkestan, Adolf was believed to be a Chinese spy by the emir of Kashgar, Wali Khan, and was imprisoned without trial. He was later executed by beheading on 26 August 1857 on orders of the emir. The circumstances of his death were not known to his brothers until his head was retrieved in 1859 from Wali Khan by Shoqan Walikhanov and brought back to the Russian Empire.

With Hermann in charge of the family estate, the remaining brothers of the family employed themselves in varied careers. Eduard published an account of the 1859–1860 Hispano-Moroccan War sometime before his death in 1866 at the Battle of Kissingen during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Robert would later take many trips to America, and publish numerous books on different regions of the country throughout the 1870s. Emil would publish a book simply titled Buddhism in Tibet (1863), and manage to outlive his siblings.

With the death of Robert in 1885, the family estate passed on to Emil, who retained the estate for the rest of his life, until his death on 29 October 1904 at the age of 69.

Members

 * Hermann (1826–1882), an explorer. Leader of 1854 expedition across the Kunlun Mountains.  Gained the "title" of "Sakünlünski", in reference to said crossing
 * Adolf (1829–1857), a botanist. Accompanied Hermann during his 1854 expedition.  Beheaded by Wali Khan due to false accusations of being a Chinese spy.
 * Eduard (1831–1866), an author. Wrote an account of the 1859-1860 Hispano-Moroccan War.  Killed during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866
 * Robert (1833–1885), an explorer and author. Accompanied Hermann during his 1854 expedition.  Wrote numerous books on America during the 1870s.
 * Emil (1835–1904), an author. Published numerous books on Buddhism in Tibet