Carl Schwaner

Carl Anton Ludwig Maria Schwaner (16 February 1817 in Mannheim – 30 March 1851 in Batavia) was a German geologist and naturalist.

He studied geology and mineralogy in Heidelberg, afterwards being associated with the museum of natural history in Leiden. In 1842, on a recommendation from Coenraad Jacob Temminck, he became a member of the Natuurkundige Commissie voor Nederlandsch Indië (Scientific commission of the Dutch East Indies).

He arrived in Batavia of the Dutch East Indies in August 1842, and following certain delays, traveled to Borneo in order to conduct geological investigations. From 1843 to 1848, he performed geological, topographical, zoological and ethnographical research on Borneo. From November 1847 to February 1848, he trekked from the southern town of Bandjermasin, through the interior of the island, to Pontianak on its western coast; thus becoming the first European to accomplish such a feat. In 1848 he returned to Batavia in order to evaluate his findings. Here he died three years later from a fever just prior to embarking on another scientific mission to Borneo.