Carl Humann

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Carl Humann

Carl Humann (January 4, 1839 – April 12, 1896) was a German engineer, architect and archaeologist. He discovered the Pergamon Altar.

Humann was born in Steele, now part of the city Essen. An educated rail-engineer and aspiring architecture student, he worked initially on the construction of the Bergisch-Märkische Railway in North Rhine-Westphalia and later attended the Building-Academy in Berlin. After falling ill with tuberculosis, he looked for healthier climates and moved to the then Ottoman Empire and settled down in Istanbul. He participated in excavations on the island of Samos, built palaces and in 1864 travelled to Palestine, under order of the Turkish government, preparing accurate maps of the area. In later years he also travelled the west Balkans and recorded accurate maps. Humann died in Smyrna.