Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell, also spelled Rueppell (20 November 1794 – 10 December 1884) was a German naturalist and explorer, best known for his collections and descriptions of plants and animals from Africa and Arabia.
Biography
Rüppell was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a prosperous banker, who was a partner in 'Rüppell und Harnier’s Bank'. He was originally destined to be a merchant, but after a visit to Sinai in 1817, where he met Henry Salt and the Swiss-German traveller Ludwig Burckhardt. He explored Giza and the Pyramids with Salt. In 1818, he developed an interest in natural history, and became elected member of the Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft.
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Sources
- Barbara and Richard Mearns. Biographies for Birdwatchers.
- Obituary. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, New Monthly Series, Vol. 8, No. 10 (Oct., 1886), pp. 654.