Photographer. As a draughtsman for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, he took many photographs of the Mississippi River. These photos were discovered in 1990, and a collection was sold by Sotheby’s for $60,000. In Sotheby’s 1995 photographic catalogue, the discovery of his work was proclaimed the most important discovery of 1990. His photos are mostly oval shaped and blue (cyanotype). He is considered by many to be one of the late nineteenth century’s greatest photographers. He was born on the estate of his grandfather, General Neithardt von Gneisenau, in Madgeburg, Prussia, and died in Rock Island, Illinois. At the time of his death, the was the Rock Island District’s chief draughtsman for the Army Corps of Engineers. (bio by: Dustin Oliver)  Family links:  Spouse:  Hulda Thiele Bosse (1859 – 1934)* *Calculated relationship