Karl Klaus von der Decken

Baron Karl Klaus (Carl Claus) von der Decken (born 8 August 1833 in Kotzen, Brandenburg, Germany; died 2 October 1865 near Bardera, Somalia) was a German explorer of eastern Africa and the first European to attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

During the journey inland, he met the young English geologist Richard Thornton (1838–1863) [1] – who had left Livingstone's Zambezi expedition – and invited him to accompany him to Kilimanjaro.

Von der Decken and Thornton surveyed the area, accurately estimating Mount Kilimanjaro's height to be around 20,000 feet above sea level.

On von der Decken's return the following year, this time accompanied by fellow German explorer and chemist Otto Kersten, their party's attempt to climb the mountain reached around 14,000 feet.

Although von der Decken failed to reach Mount Kilimanjaro's summit, his and Richard Thornton's data ended the debate as to whether there was any settled snow or ice in tropical Africa.