# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/heinrich-schmelen
# Generated: 2026-08-15T00:55:57.215Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/heinrich-schmelen"
name: "Heinrich Schmelen"
slug: "heinrich-schmelen"
description: "Johann Heinrich Schmelen was a German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South West Africa. Traveling through the area of today's northern South Africa and central and southern Namibia he founded the mission stations at Bethanie and Steinkopf and discovered the natural harbour at Walvis Bay. Together with his wife Zara he translated parts of the Bible into Khoekhoegowab (Damara/Nama) and published a dictionary."
tagline: "Missionary and Bible translator"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Heinrich_Schmelen.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Germany"
  isoCode: "DE"
birthDate: "1777"
deathDate: "1848"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           35.97
  momentum:             0.2083333333333333
  historical:           4.403528
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     30
  profileCompleteness:  50
  trendDirection:       "FALLING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
sources:
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Schmelen"
    title: "Johann Schmelen"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86"
    title: "هينريخ ستشميلين"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schmelen"
    title: "Heinrich Schmelen"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schmelen"
    title: "Heinrich Schmelen"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://tn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schmelen"
    title: "Heinrich Schmelen"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q99400"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump