Carl Julian (von) Graba (17 February 1799 in Itzehoe – 30 March 1874 in Kiel) was a German lawyer and Royal Danish judicial councillor,[1] and was also a keen ornithologist and one of the first modern researchers to visit and study the Faroe Islands,[2] where he described the local puffin which was subsequently named Fratercula arctica grabae after him.
[9] He travelled by eight-manned rowing boat, on horseback and on foot, often staying with young Danish priests who would typically spend six years in the Faroes as a passport to good careers back in Denmark.
[5] He spent three days in Saksun and then visited the bird cliffs in the Vestmanna mountains, which made a strong impression on him.
He witnessed 300 people in 30 boats slaughtering 80 whales, describing the strategy, wild shouting, courage, bloodlust and fury in the heat of the battle.
[5] His notes were published in Hamburg in 1830 under the title Tagebuch, geführt auf einer Reise nach Färö im Jahre 1828 (Diary kept on a trip to Farö in 1828), which was translated into Faroese in 1987.