Ludwig Ritter von Höhnel (6 August 1857, Preßburg – 23 March 1942, Vienna)[1] was an Austrian naval officer and explorer.

Teleki and Höhnel made numerous observations on the climate, flora, and fauna of the territories visited and collected more than 400 ethnographical objects, most of them from Maasai and Kikuyu tribes.

The scientific results of the journey were published by Höhnel in several articles and in a book written in German and translated into Hungarian and English, titled The Discovery of Lakes Rudolf and Stefanie (1892).

[3] In 1892 Höhnel was awarded the Carl Ritter Medal (silver) "for a first successful pioneering trip and for [his] meritorious geographic performance.

[8] The expedition was eventually stranded in what is now the Meru North District of Kenya because of the death of all of its 165 pack animals (probably due to trypanosomiasis) and the desertion of many of the 200 porters.

[9] On 24 August 1893, Höhnel was gored by a rhinoceros in the groin and lower abdomen[10] and was forced to leave Chanler and return to Zanzibar and then Vienna, arriving in February 1894.

[8]: 100 After recovering from his injuries, Höhnel became an officer on board the corvette SMS Donau, and traveled in 1897 to the Mediterranean and along the coast of West Africa south to Cameroon, then across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, and to New York and Newport, Rhode Island.

[8]: 101 Höhnel wrote an autobiography centered on the turbulent years preceding the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, providing insights into African exploration, the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and prominent personalities of the Habsburg court, including Admiral Hermann von Spaun, Admiral Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck, and Rudolf Montecuccoli.