German geologist from Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, who trained at the University of Berlin and the University of Bonn (Dr. Phil. 1884). He became an assistant at the Mineralogical Museum of the University of Bonn. From 1884-1887 he was sent as a geographer to the newly established territory of German South West Africa (later Namibia), and participated in the first mineralogical expedition organised by Adolf Lüderitz under the leadership of Carl Höpfner. Schenck and Pohle collected in the south of the colony, while the Swiss botanist, Hans Schinz, collected in the northern part of S.W. Africa. In addition to collecting minerals, Schenck also collected botanical specimens, particularly lichens. It is not clear to what extent, if any, collections are attributable jointly to members of the expedition.

Though the expedition failed to find any commercially exploitable mineral deposits, Schenck visited mines and goldfields in South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique before returning to Germany. He was appointed professor of geography at Halle University (1899-1922) and continued to lecture until 1932, specialising in geography of the German colonies and contributing to the activities of the Deutschen Kolonialgesellschaft. Adolf Schenck is commemorated botanically by a number of African phanerogams including Barleria schenckii Schinz, Mesembryanthemum schenckii Schinz (= Brownanthus vaginatus (Lam.) Chess. & M. Pignal subsp. schenckii (Schinz) Chess. & M. Pignal) and Sesamum schenckii Asch. ex Schinz. The lichen Parmelia schenckiana Müll. Arg. (= Xanthoparmelia schenckiana (Müll. Arg.) Hale) is also named after him.