Georg von Schleinitz was born on 17 June 1834, He began his maritime career as a
cabin boy on a trading brig before enlisting into the
Prussian Navy in 1849. He served aboard the steamship
Danzig, partaking in the
Battle of Tres Forcas against the
Barbary pirates in August 1856. He then served aboard the
frigate for its 1860–62 voyage to East Asia. He later commanded
Arcona from September 1869 to May 1871, and again briefly from June to September 1873. In 1874, Schleinitz was made commander of the frigate
Gazelle, and embarked on an astronomical voyage to the
Kerguelen Islands to study the
Transit of Venus. He then traveled to the Pacific, naming the
Gazelle Peninsula of New Guinea after his ship. After returning to Germany in 1876, he was assigned to the board for the navy's Hydrography Office of the
German Imperial Admiralty, a position he held from May 1876 to February 1886. During this period, on 30 March 1883, he was promoted to the rank of (rear admiral). In addition, he established several towns and established a colonial shipping service. He also embarked on several expeditions into New Guinea, including one up the
Sepik River in 1887. The flowering plant genus
Schleinitzia was named in his honor by German-Jewish botanist
Otto Warburg in 1891, as was the
Schleinitz Range on the island of
New Ireland. Schleinitz's term as governor of New Guinea ended on 1 March 1888, and shortly thereafter retired from naval service on account of poor health. He returned to Germany, continuing to publish papers in scientific journals. He died in
Hohenborn on 12 December 1910. == References ==