Anton Friedrich Büsching

Anton Friedrich Büsching (born Sept. 27, 1724, Stadthagen, Schaumburg-Lippe [now in Germany]—died May 28, 1793, Berlin, Prussia [Germany]) was a German geographer and educator who helped develop a scientific basis for the study of geography by stressing statistics rather than descriptive writing.

Büsching was director (1766–93) of the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in Berlin, where he made significant contributions to German education. Most important among his more than 100 publications was the multivolume Neue Erdbeschreibung, which began appearing in 1760. At his death only the sections dealing with Europe and a part of Asia had been published. A New System of Geography, a six-volume English translation of the first parts, was published in 1762.