<Tr> <Th> Residence </Th> <Td> varies; see text </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> missionary, explorer </Td> </Tr> <P> Johannes Rebmann (January 16, 1820--October 4, 1876) was a German missionary and explorer credited with feats including being the first European, along with his colleague Johann Ludwig Krapf, to enter Africa from the Indian Ocean coast . In addition, he was the first European to find Kilimanjaro . News of Rebmann's discovery was published in the Church Missionary Intelligencer in May 1849, but disregarded as mere fantasy for the next twelve years . The Geographical Society of London held that snow could not possibly occur let alone persist in such latitudes and considered the report to be the hallucination of a malaria - stricken missionary . It was only in 1861 that researchers began their efforts to measure Kilimanjaro . Expeditions to Tanzania between 1861 and 1865, led by the German Baron Karl Klaus von der Decken, confirmed Rebmann's report . Together with his colleague Johann Ludwig Krapf he also discovered Mt . Kenya . Their work there is also thought to have had effects on future African expeditions by Europeans, including the exploits of Sir Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, and David Livingstone . After losing most of his eyesight and entering into a brief marriage, he died of pneumonia . </P> <P> Rebmann was born to a Swabian farmer and winegrower on January 16, 1820 in Gerlingen, Württemberg . The village he lived in was very small, with about 1,500 inhabitants . Even at an early age, he aspired to be a "preacher and canvasser of the gospel". </P>

Who was the first european to see mount kilimanjaro