California State University, Northridge

PRESS RELEASE

April 9, 1996

Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
Director of News and Information,
(818) 885-2130

Lecture Explores Early Travels Along California's Coast

The efforts of 19th century German geographer Johann Georg Kohl to study and document California's coast will be the topic of a discussion and rare map exhibition at Cal State Northridge on Monday, April 22.

The discussion, "Early Travels to the California Coast: 1854-1858," will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. in the University Student Union. It will feature presentations by Margrit Krewson, a German and Dutch area specialist with the Library of Congress, and Hans-Albrecht Koch, a professor from the University of Bremen, Germany.

The University Student Union is near the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

The discussion will focus on Kohl, a 19th century German geographer, author and historian, who visited the United States in the 1850s and an influential chronicler of North American geography and exploration.

Kohl researched the exploration of America's coasts and was employed by the United States Coast Survey to document California's coast.

Kohl's maps of California will be on display in the university's Oviatt Library beginning April 22. The exhibition will continue through April 30.

The presentation and the map exhibition are free to the public. The event is being co-sponsored by the University Library and the Department of History.

For more information, call (818) 885-2635.