Richthofen, Ferdinand, Baron von, 1833-1905, German geographer, geologist, and traveler. He took part in a Prussian expedition in E Asia (1860-62), worked as a geologist in W United States (1862-68), then made several exploring journeys in China and Japan (1868-72). His geographical, geological, economic, and ethnological findings in China were embodied in three volumes and an atlas (1877-85); three posthumous volumes appeared in 1911 and 1912. He was professor at the universities of Bonn (1875-83), Leipzig (1883-86), and Berlin (from 1886) and was the founder and the first director (1902-5) of the Institut für Meereskunde, Berlin.