Erich von Drygalski (1865-1949) was born in Königsberg, East Prussia Kingdom of Prussia.

He became a professor of geography and geophysics in Berlin. In 1901 he led his crew on a South Pole Expedition and found new territory in Antarctica. Between 1905 and 1931 he published 20 volumes documenting the expedition. From 1906 until his retirement he was a professor in Munich. In 1910 he also took part in Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's expedition to Spitsbergen.