Richard Vahsel

Richard Vahsel (9 February 1868 – 8 August 1912) was a German naval officer who served as second officer on the Antarctic Gauss expedition, under command of Erich von Drygalski.[1][2] In 1911, Vahsel was controversially appointed as captain of the Deutschland, on Wilhelm Filchner's Second German Antarctic Expedition, 1911–1913.[2] Vahsel and Filchner proved incompatible, and the failure of their relationship fatally undermined the chances of the expedition's success.[3][1]

Vahsel died during the expedition, of heart failure likely aggravated by the effects of syphilis, as Deutschland was drifting while trapped in the ice in the Weddell Sea.[4] He was buried in the ice on 10 August 1912, as the ship drifted across the Antarctic Circle.[5] Vahsel Bay, at the southern extreme of the Weddell Sea, is named after him,[6] as are the Vahsel Glacier on Heard Island, discovered during Drygalski's expedition, and Cape Vahsel on the south-eastern coast of South Georgia.