Carl Ritter
Early in his career, Petermann already wanted to further the cause of geographical exploration as shown by his concern for and interference with James Richardson's expedition. The purpose of this expedition, which was supported by the British government, was to negotiate trade treaties with the rulers of the middle Sudan. Petermann, supported by Carl Ritter and Robert Bunsen, pleaded with the British government to let Heinrich Barth and Adolf Overweg join up with Richardson's expedition to assure that geographical and scientific aspects which they might encounter were taken care of. When still affiliated with the , he published their progress in this journal, and when he started he followed this through.