Algot Lange

Born in Stockholm on May 10, 1884, Algot Lange was a Swedish-American explorer and writer best known for books about the Amazon. He was born Åke Mortimer Lange and later adopted his father’s name, Algot; his father was the opera singer Algot Lange, and his mother, Ina Forstén, was a pianist and author.

Lange emigrated to New York in 1904 and went on to build a life shaped by travel and fieldwork. He is especially remembered for his journeys in South America and for turning those experiences into narrative nonfiction that brought remote parts of the Amazon to readers in Europe and the United States.

Among his best-known works are In the Amazon Jungle and The Lower Amazon. His writing combines the pace of adventure with an explorer’s eye for landscape, people, and risk, making him an appealing figure for readers interested in classic travel writing and the history of exploration.