Lajos (Ludwig) Richter was born in 1844 in Tóalmás, Jászberény, Hungary.

He was a Hungarian office worker and amateur botanist and plant collector. He made extensive collections in Algeria, Hungary, Iran, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and possessed an immense herbarium. It was purchased by the Hungarian government but its current status is unknown. A large portion was acquired by the Natural History Museum, London, with the Shuttleworth herbarium in 1877.

He died in 1917 in Budapest, Hungary.