Nikolay Przhevalsky
1839–1888 · Russian (Smolensk) · Victorian Era
Known for: Greatest Russian explorer of Central Asia—made four epic expeditions through Mongolia and Tibet, discovered Przhevalsky's horse (the last wild horse)
Przhevalsky was a military officer and naturalist who made four epic expeditions through Inner Asia, crossing the Gobi Desert, exploring the upper Yellow River, approaching Lhasa, and discovering the wild camel and the only surviving species of wild horse, now named after him.
He was tough, patriotic, and driven by both scientific curiosity and Russian imperial ambition. He died of typhus on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul while preparing his fifth expedition—the desert took him at last.
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