August Petermann, a German geographer, born at Bleicherode, near Nordhausen, in Prussian Saxony, April 18, 1822. He studied in the academy established at Potsdam by Berg-haus, with whom he lived six years as his private secretary and librarian, assisting him in the preparation of his "Physical Atlas." In 1841 he published for Humboldt the map of central Asia. In 1845 he went to Edinburgh to aid A. K. Johnston in the English edition of the " Physical Atlas;" and in 1847 to London, where he became a member of the royal • geographical society, and in conjunction with the Rev. Thomas Milner prepared an "Atlas of Physical Geography." To him is due in great measure the aid which Barth, Overweg, and vogel received from .the English government in their African explorations. In 1854 he became superintendent of the geographical institute of Justus Perthes at Gotha, and in the following year he established the monthly Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthes' geographi-scher Anstalt, of which 21 volumes have appeared (1855-75), besides numerous and valuable supplements. He has efficiently promoted arctic, African, and other explorations.

To the new edition of Stieler's Hand-Atlas, now (1875) approaching completion, he has contributed some of the finest maps, including a map of the United States in six parts.