Balduin Möllhausen
Balduin Möllhausen (1825–1905) was a notable German adventure novelist and traveler, whose life experiences greatly influenced his literary works. Born near Bonn, Germany, Möllhausen endured early hardships, including the loss of his mother and the disappearance of his father. He was raised by an aristocratic relative, receiving a varied education before pursuing a military career in 1846. His journey to America began in 1849, where he worked as a sign painter and clerk in Illinois and Missouri.
Möllhausen's adventurous spirit led him on a significant expedition with Duke Paul Wilhelm von Württemberg across the American plains, during which he faced perilous conditions and survival challenges in the wilderness. After a remarkable rescue by Indian hunters and time spent with the Omaha tribe, he returned to Germany, where he developed a friendship with the renowned explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Möllhausen's literary contributions are particularly recognized in the Amerikaroman genre, which provided a realistic portrayal of American life and landscapes, contrasting with the more fantastical works of contemporaries like Karl May. His novels, rooted in his authentic experiences, resonated with a German audience connected to the New World through emigration. Möllhausen continued to write prolifically until his death in 1905, leaving a legacy that intertwined adventure and realism in the exploration of America.
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Balduin Möllhausen
Author
- Born: January 27, 1825
- Birthplace: Near Bonn, Germany
- Died: May 28, 1905
- Place of death: Berlin, Germany
Biography
Prolific nineteenth century German adventure novelist Balduin Möllhausen was born in 1825 near Bonn, Germany. His mother died when he was two years old, and his father, a Prussian officer, disappeared on a military mission to Greece. An aristocratic relative, Count Krassow, received custody of Möllhausen and his siblings, and Möllhausen was educated first by an aunt in Mecklenberg and then at the Gymnasium in Bonn. He left school at fourteen and, after his chosen vocation of painting was rejected by his relatives, returned to Mecklenberg to work in agriculture until joining the military in 1846. In 1849, he sailed to America, spending two years in Illinois and Missouri earning a living as a sign painter and clerk.
In 1851, Möllhausen accompanied Duke Paul Wilhelm von Württemberg on a difficult trip across the plains country from the Mississippi River to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming. Möllhausen spent two months during the winter of 1851-1852 alone in the wilderness after their horses were killed in a winter storm; the duke had won a drawing of lots for a single spot on a mail coach and had left Möllhausen with promises of sending help. Möllhausen was rescued in early 1852 by a band of Indian hunters and spent several months with the Omaha tribe. He returned to Germany in 1853, accompanying a shipment of North American animals heading for the Berlin Zoo.
In Germany, Möllhausen was introduced to the great explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who tutored him as a writer and recommended him for the Whipple expedition to determine the best railroad route from the Mississippi to the Pacific. Upon returning from this expedition in 1855, Möllhausen married a member of Humboldt’s household, Carolina Alexandra Seifert, purportedly the daughter of Humboldt’s private secretary but rumored to be Humboldt’s own daughter. Around the time of his marriage, Möllhausen became the royal librarian at Potsdam and published his first work, a diary of the Whipple expedition.
Shortly after the publication of that diary, Möllhausen returned to America on an expedition to survey the Colorado River, including the Grand Canyon; his diary is one of the earliest to describe that natural wonder. This was Möllhausen’s last trip to America, and he returned to Germany in 1858, after a nostalgic trip East from Albuquerque.
Drawing on those experiences, Möllhausen wrote extensively in the popular transatlantic adventure genre known as the Amerikaroman, inspired by James Fenimore Cooper. Although usually associated with the fanciful writing of Karl May, earlier exponents of the genre, including Möllhausen, Charles Sealsfield, Friedrich Armand Strubberg, and Friedrich Gerstacher, composed more realistic novels drawing on their firsthand experience of the Americas. Their novels provided valuable information to a German populace tied to the New World through mass emigration, although the Americkaroman genre was also exciting and escapist.
Möllhausen settled in Potsdam and wrote prolifically, publishing works in newspapers, magazines and anthologies in addition to a large number of novels. He moved to Berlin in 1866, and continued writing until his death in 1905. He was buried in the buckskin coat he had worn for his American explorations.