Heinrich Berghaus
Heinrich Karl Wilhelm Berghaus (3 May 1797 – 17 February 1884) was a German geographer and cartographer who conducted trigonometric surveys in Prussia and taught geodesy at the Bauakademie in Berlin. He taught cartography and produced a pioneering and influential thematic atlas which provided maps of flora, fauna, climate, geology, diseases and a range of other information. He was a friend of Alexander von Humboldt and produced some of the maps used in his publications.
Also recorded as H. K. W. Berghaus · Heinrich Karl Wilhelm Berghaus · Heinrich Carl Wilhelm Berghaus
Heinrich Berghaus

Landmark Thematic Atlases · Public domain
- Born
- 1797.
- Died
- 1884.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Prussia.
- Occupation
- cartographer, university teacher, mathematician, botanist, geographical engineer (military cartographer), geodesist, writer and geographer.
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Heinrich Karl Wilhelm Berghaus (3 May 1797 – 17 February 1884) was a German geographer and cartographer who conducted trigonometric surveys in Prussia and taught geodesy at the Bauakademie in Berlin. He taught cartography and produced a pioneering and influential thematic atlas which provided maps of flora, fauna, climate, geology, diseases and a range of other information. He was a friend of Alexander von Humboldt and produced some of the maps used in his publications.
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In this article
Life
Life
A nephew Hermann Berghaus also worked in cartography.
Berghaus was born at Kleve. He was trained as a surveyor, and after volunteering for active service under General Tauentzien in 1813, joined the staff of the Prussian trigonometrical survey in 1816. He carried on a geographical school at Potsdam where he trained Heinrich Lange, August Heinrich Petermann, his nephew Hermann Berghaus and others, and long held the professorship of applied mathematics at the Bauakademie. He died at Stettin (Szczecin) on 17 February 1884. He is most famous for his cartographic work. His greatest achievement was the Physikalischer Atlas (Gotha, 1838–1848), with which, as in others, his nephew Hermann Berghaus (1828–1890) was associated with him. This atlas was used to illustrate Alexander von Humboldt's Cosmos. It was planned to publish this atlas in Britain too, together with Alexander Keith Johnston, but it later was published in a different form by Johnston alone. Berghaus had also a share in the re-issue of the great Stieler Handatlas (originally produced by Adolf Stieler in 1817–1823, see: Stielers Handatlas), and in the production of other atlases. The sections of the Physikalischer Atlas were: Section I. Meteorology and Climatology (15 maps) Section II. Hydrology and Hydrography (16) Section III. Geology (15) Section IV. Telluric Magnetism (5) Section V. Geography of Botany (6) Section VI. Geography of Zoology (12) Section VII. Anthropology (4) Section VIII. Ethnography (19) Berghaus's written works were numerous and important, including Allgemeine Länder- und Völkerkunde (Stuttgart, 1837–1840), Grundriss der Geographie in fünf Büchern (Berlin, 1842), Die Völker des Erdballs (Leipzig, 1845–1847), Was man von der Erde weiß (Berlin, 1856–1860), and various large works on Germany. In 1863 he published Briefwechsel mit Alexander von Humboldt (Leipzig). In 1838, Berghaus became a correspondent, living abroad, of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands. When that institute became the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1851 he became a foreign member. Berghaus is the namesake of Berghaus Island, one of the islands of the Franz Josef Land Arctic archipelago.
Works
Works
Magazines and other literature edited with his participation Hertha (mit K. F. V. Hoffmann, 1825–1829) Annalen der Erd-, Völker- und Staatenkunde (Berlin 1830–43, 28 volumes) Almanach, den Freunden der Erdkunde gewidmet (vol. 1–3, Stuttgart 1837–39; vol. 4 and 5, Gotha 1840–41) Geographische Jahrbuch (vol. 1–4, Stuttgart 1850–1852; continued as Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen). Monographs (excerpt) Allgemeine Länder- und Völkerkunde (Stuttgart 1837–40, 5 volumes) Grundriß der Geographie in fünf Büchern (Berlin 1842) online Physikalischer Atlas (in German). Gotha: Perthes. 1845. Physikalischer Atlas (in German). Gotha: Perthes. 1848. Die Völker des Erdballs (Leipzig 1845–47, 2 volumes; new edition 1862) Die Grundlinien der Ethnographie (Stuttgart 1850, 2nd ed., 1856) Landbuch der Mark Brandenburg und des Markgraftums Niederlausitz (Brandenburg 1853–56, 3 volumes) Vol. 1, VI + 684 pages, 1854, online, Vol. 2, IX + 650 pages, 1855, online, Vol. 3, VI + 783 pages, 1856, online + CVIII pages Register + Corrigenda. Was man von der Erde weiß (Berlin 1856–1860, 4 volumes) Deutschland seit hundert Jahren - Geschichte der Gebiets-Einteilung und der politischen Verfassung des Vaterlandes (Leipzig 1859–62, 5 volumes) Part I: Deutschland vor hundert Jahren Vol. 1: Leipzig 1859, 448 pages, online. Vol 2: Leipzig 1860, 440 pages, online. Part II: Deutschland vor fünfzig Jahren Vol. 1: Zustände vom baierschen Erbfolge-Streit, 1778, bis zum Reichsdeputations-Receß, 1803. Leipzig 1861, VI + 406 pages. online Vol. 2: (Entwicklungen von 1803 bis 1809). Leipzig 1861, IV + 412 pages, online Vol. 3: (Entwicklungen von 1809 bis 1813). Leipzig 1862, IV + 426 pages, online. Wallfahrt durch's Leben... (Berghaus' autobiografische Erinnerungen) Leipzig, 1862 (vol. 1 + 2) online, (Vol. 3 - 289 pages) online, (Vol. 4 - 236 pages) online, (Vol. 5 - 269 pages) online, (Vol. 6 - 228 pages) online, (Vol. 7 - 245 pages) online, (Vol. 8 - 230 pages) online, (Vol. 9 - 256 pages) online. Briefwechsel mit Alexander von Humboldt, 3 volumes (Leipzig 1863) Blücher als Mitglied der Pommerschen Ritterschaft 1777-1817 und beim Preußischen Heere am Rhein 1794. Anklam 1863, online Landbuch des Herzogtums Pommern - Schilderung der Zustände dieser Lande in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts (Anklam 1862–1868, 13 volumes), including: Part II: Landbuch des Herzogtums Stettin, von Kammin und Hinterpommern; oder des Verwaltungsbezirks der Königlichen Regierung zu Stettin. Vol. 1: Kreise Demmin, Anklam, Usedom-Wollin und Ueckermünde. Anklam 1865, 1094 pages, online. Vol. 2: Randowscher Kreis und Allgemeines über die Kreise auf dem linken Oder-Ufer, Anklam 1865, online. Vol. 3: Kreise Greifenhagen und Pyritz, Anklam 1868, online. Vol. 4: Saatziger Kreis, insbesondere Stadt Stargard, Anklam 1867, online. Part III: Landbuch des Herzogtums Kaschubien und der einverleibten Kreise der Neumark; oder des Verwaltungs-Bezirks der Königlichen Regierung zu Köslin westlicher Teil. Vol. 1: Kreise Fürstentum Kammin und Belgard. Anklam 1867, online Part IV: Landbuch von Neu-Vorpommern und der Insel Rügen, oder des Verwaltungs-Bezirks der Königlichen Regierung zu Stralsund. Vol. 2 Greifswalder Kreis, Anklam 1868, 1232 pages, online. Geschichte der Stadt Stettin, der Hauptstadt von Pommern - Topographisch-statistisch beschrieben nach allen Richtungen ihres politischen, bürgerlichen, merkantilischen und kirchlichen Lebens (Berlin/Wriezen 1875–76, 2 volumes) Vol. 1, 1102 pages Vol 2, 1115 pages Atlas Asia, Sammlung von Denkschriften in Beziehung auf die Geo- und Hydrographie dieses Erdtheils; zur Erklärung und Erläuterung seines Karten-Atlas zusammengetragen 1835. Map of Syria (No. 5 of Berghaus' Atlas of Asia): Karte von Syrien, den Manen Jacotin's und Burckhardt's gewidmet at the National Library of Israel.

Heinrich Berghaus: Karte von Syrien. Den Manen Jacotin's und Burckhardt's gewidmet. Gestochen v. C.H. Herterich, Selmar Siebert und Rolle. 1: 450.000. Gotha: Justus Perthes / Berlin: Simon Schropp Co., 1835. Kolorierter Kupferstich, 86 x 58 cm. Signatur: Sammlung Perthes Bibliothek (SPB) 2° 1010.88f (5), Forschungsbibliothek Gotha
Forschungsbibliothek Gotha · Gotha Research Library
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reference work
- “Heinrich Berghaus”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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- Wikidata, structured authority record Q67485: Heinrich Berghaus
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Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jarcho, Saul. The Contributions of Heinrich and Hermann Berghaus to Medical Cartography. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. XXIV. 4. 412–415. 1969. 0022-5045.
- 2.At the end of volume II of the first edition of the Kosmos published at Stuttgart in 1847 is a prospectus confirming this connection
- 3.Kozák, J. Berghaus' Physikalischer Atlas: Surprising content and superior artistic images. Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica. 46. 3. 599–610. 2002. 10.1023/A:1019503404937.
- 4.Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Heinrich Karl Wilhelm Berghaus (1797 - 1884).
- 5.Berghaus, Heinrich. Asia, Sammlung von Denkschriften in Beziehung auf die Geo- und Hydrographie dieses Erdtheils; zur Erklärung und Erläuterung seines Karten-Atlas zusammengetragen. Justus Perthes. 5 Syrien. Geographisches Memoir zur Erklärung und Erläuterung der Karte von Syrien. (No. 5 von Berghaus’ Atlas von Asia.). 17. 1832.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Maps and atlases
1,180 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Hans MeyerAuthor
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- Hayashi ShiheiAuthor
- Heinrich BüntingAuthor
- Heinrich C. BerannAuthor
- Heinrich FreyerAuthor
- Heinrich KiepertAuthor
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