(September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859) was a German naturalist and
explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and
linguistLinguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning...
,
Wilhelm von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt , government functionary, diplomat, philosopher, founder of Humboldt Universität in Berlin, friend of Goethe and in particular of Schiller, is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of...
(1767-1835). Humboldt's quantitative work on
botanicalBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
geographyGeography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
was foundational to the field of
biogeographyBiogeography is the study of the distribution of biodiversity over space and time. It aims to reveal where organisms live, and at what abundance....
.
Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt traveled extensively in
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, exploring and describing it for the first time in a manner generally considered to be a modern scientific point of view. His description of the journey was written up and published in an enormous set of volumes over 21 years. He was one of the first to propose that the lands bordering the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
were once joined (South America and Africa in particular). Later, his five-volume work,
Kosmos (1845), attempted to unify the various branches of scientific knowledge. Humboldt supported and worked with other scientists, including Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac,
Justus von LiebigJustus von Liebig was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and worked on the organization of organic chemistry. As a professor, he devised the modern laboratory-oriented teaching method, and for such innovations, he is regarded as one of the...
,
Louis AgassizJean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a paleontologist, glaciologist, and geologist, and was a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
,
Matthew Fontaine MauryMatthew Fontaine Maury , United States Navy was an American astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator....
, and most notably,
Aimé BonplandAimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
, with whom he conducted much of his scientific exploration.
Early life and education
Humboldt was born in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
in the
Margraviate of BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
. His father, Alexander George von Humboldt, was a major in the
Prussian ArmyThe Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War. Elector Frederick William developed it into a viable...
and belonged to a prominent
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
n family and was rewarded for his services during the
Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War lasted between 1754 and 1763 and involved all of the major European powers of the period. The war pitted Prussia and Britain and a coalition of smaller German states against an alliance consisting of Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony...
with the post of Royal
ChamberlainA chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
. He married Maria Elizabeth von Colomb in 1766, the widow of Baron von Holwede, and they had two sons. The money of Baron von Holwede, left to his former wife, was instrumental in the funding of Alexander's explorations, contributing more than 70% of Alexander's monetary income.
Due to his penchant for collecting and labeling plants, shells, and insects he received the playful title of "the little apothecary". His father died in 1779, after which his mother took care of his education. Destined for a political career, he studied
financeFinance is the science of funds management. The general areas of finance are business finance, personal finance, and public finance. Finance includes saving money and often includes lending money. The field of finance deals with the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interrelated...
during six months at the
University of Frankfurt (Oder)Viadrina European University is a university located at Frankfurt in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt . The city is on the Oder River, which marks the border between Germany and Poland...
; and a year later, on April 25, 1789, he matriculated at Göttingen, then eminent for the lectures of C. G. Heyne and
J. F. BlumenbachJohann Friedrich Blumenbach was a German physician, physiologist and anthropologist, one of the first to explore the study of mankind as an aspect of natural history, whose teachings in comparative anatomy were applied to classification of human races, of which he determined...
. His vast and varied interests were by this time fully developed, and during a vacation in 1789, he made a scientific excursion up the
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
, and produced the treatise
Mineralogische Beobachtungen über einige Basalte am Rhein (Brunswick, 1790).
Humboldt's passion for travel was confirmed by friendships formed at Göttingen with
Georg ForsterJohann Georg Adam Forster was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father on several scientific expeditions, including James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific...
, Heyne's son-in-law, the distinguished companion of Captain
James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS RN , was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy...
on his second voyage. Henceforth his studies and combination of personal talents became to the purpose of preparing himself for a distinctive calling as a scientific explorer. With this view he studied commerce and foreign languages at Hamburg, geology at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg under
A. G. WernerAbraham Gottlob Werner , was a German geologist who set out a now obsolete theory about the stratification of the Earth's crust and coined the now obsolete word Neptunism.-Life:...
, anatomy at
JenaJena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. With a population of 103,000 it is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
under
J. C. LoderJustus Ferdinand Christian Loder was a German anatomist and surgeon who was a native of Riga.In 1777 Loder earned his medical doctorate at the University of Göttingen, and the following year was appointed professor of surgery and anatomy at the University of Jena, where he would practice medicine...
, and astronomy and the use of scientific instruments under
F. X. von ZachBaron Franz Xaver von Zach was a German astronomer born at Pest in Hungary....
and
J. G. KöhlerJohann Gottfried Koehler was a German astronomer who discovered a number of nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies....
. His researches into the vegetation of the mines of
FreibergFreiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
led to the publication, in 1793, of his
Florae Fribergensis Specimen; and the results of a prolonged course of experiments on the phenomena of muscular irritability, then recently discovered by
Luigi Galvani Luigi Galvani was an Italian physician and physicist who lived and died in Bologna. In 1771, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs twitched when struck by a spark.ref> – Eric Weisstein’s World of Scientific Biolgraph. This was one of the first forays into the study of...
, were contained in his
Versuche über die gereizte Muskel- und Nervenfaser (Berlin, 1797), enriched in the French translation with notes by Blumenbach.
Travels and work in Europe
In 1794 Humboldt was admitted to the intimacy of the famous
WeimarWeimar is a city in Germany mostly known for its cultural heritage. It is located in the Bundesland of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
coterie, and contributed (June 7, 1795) to
SchillerJohann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [johan/joːhan krɪstɔf friːtʁɪç fɔn ʃɪləʁ/ʃɪlɐ] was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright...
's new periodical,
Die Horen, a philosophical
allegoryAllegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. An allegory is a device that can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, or in visual form, such as in painting or sculpture...
entitled
Die Lebenskraft, oder der rhodische Genius. In the summer of 1790 he paid a short visit to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in company with Forster. In 1792 and 1797 he was in
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
; in 1795 he made a geological and botanical tour through
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
and
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. He had obtained in the meantime official employment: appointed assessor of mines at Berlin, February 29, 1792. Although this service to the state was regarded by him as only an apprenticeship to the service of science, he fulfilled its duties with such conspicuous ability that not only did he rise rapidly to the highest post in his department, but he was also entrusted with several important diplomatic missions. The death of his mother, on November 19, 1796, set him free to follow the bent of his genius, and severing his official connections, he waited for an opportunity to fulfil his long-cherished dream of travel.
Latin American expedition
On the postponement of
Captain BaudinNicolas-Thomas Baudin was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer.Baudin was born a communer in Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré. At the age of fifteen he joined the merchant navy, and at twenty joined the French East India Company...
's proposed voyage of
circumnavigationTo circumnavigate a place, such as an island, a continent, or the Earth, is to travel all the way around it by boat or ship. More recently, the term has also been used to cover aerial round-the-world flights.- World circumnavigation :...
, which he had been officially invited to accompany, Humboldt left
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for
MarseilleMarseille , formerly known as Massalia , is the 2nd most populous French city as well as the oldest city in France...
with
Aimé BonplandAimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
, the designated botanist of the frustrated expedition, hoping to join
Napoleon BonaparteNapoleon Bonaparte later known as Napoleon I, and previously Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, Bonaparte rose to prominence...
in Egypt. Means of transport, however, were not forthcoming, and the two travellers eventually found their way to
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
, where the unexpected patronage of the minister Don
Mariano Luis de UrquijoMariano Luis de Urquijo y Muga , . Secretary of State, of Spain from 12 February 1799 to 13 December 1799, during the times of King Carlos IV of Spain, and between 7 July 1808 and 27 June 1813 under the imposed Napoleonic King Joseph Bonaparte.Between those two periods he was replaced as ...
convinced them to make Spanish America the scene of their explorations.
Armed with powerful recommendations, they sailed in the
Pizarro from
A CoruñaA Coruña is the second largest city in Galicia in northwestern Spain, second only in size to the port of Vigo in Pontevedra Province. The city is the capital of A Coruña Province...
, on June 5, 1799, stopped six days on the island of
TenerifeTenerife, a Spanish island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 886,033 inhabitants, which make it the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain. About five million tourists...
to climb Mount
TeideMount Teide or, in Spanish, El Teide, is the highest elevation of Spain and the islands of the Atlantic . It is an active volcano which last erupted in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the Santiago rift and is located on Tenerife, Canary Islands...
, and landed at
CumanáCumaná is the capital of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located 402 km east of Caracas. It was one of the first settlements founded by Europeans on the South American mainland, in 1515 by Franciscan monks, but due to successful attacks by the indigenous people, it had to be refounded several times...
, Venezuela, on July 16. Humboldt visited the mission at
CaripeCaripe is the name of a town and municipality in the mountainous north of the state of Monagas in eastern Venezuela.The soil of the Caripe valley is very fertile, and the climate of the area is exceptionally pleasant, a result of its altitude , latitude , and proximity to the Caribbean Sea...
where he found the
oil-birdThe Oilbird , also known as Guácharo, is a slim, long-winged bird related to the nightjars and usually placed with these in the order Caprimulgiformes...
, which he was to make known to science as
Steatornis caripensis. Returning to Cumaná, Humboldt observed, on the night of November 11–12, a remarkable
meteor showerA meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speed on parallel trajectories. Most are smaller than a...
(the
LeonidsThe Leonids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the meteors appear to stream from that point in the sky....
). He proceeded with Bonpland to
CaracasCaracas is the capital and largest city of Venezuela. It is located in the north of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range . The valley's temperatures are springlike. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 910 m above...
; and in February 1800 they left the coast with the purpose of exploring the course of the Orinoco River. This trip, which lasted four months, and covered of wild and largely uninhabited country, had the important result of establishing the existence of the
Casiquiare canalThe Casiquiare river is a distributary of the upper Orinoco, which flows southward into the Rio Negro. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems; it is the largest river on the planet that links two major river systems, a so-called bifurcation...
(a communication between the water-systems of the rivers Orinoco and
AmazonThe Amazon River of South America is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total river flow greater than the next eight largest rivers combined. The Amazon, which has the largest drainage basin in the world, accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world's total river flow. During...
), and of determining the exact position of the
bifurcationBifurcation means the splitting of a main body into two parts.Bifurcation or Bifurcated may refer to:*Bifurcation , the division of issues in a trial for example the division of a page into two parts....
, as well as documenting the life of several native tribes such as the Maipures and their extinct rivals the Atures. Around March 19, 1800, von Humboldt and Bonpland discovered and captured some
electric eelThe electric eel or temblador , is an electrical fish, and the only species of the genus Electrophorus. It is capable of generating powerful electric shocks, which it uses for both hunting and self-defense. It is an apex predator in its South American range...
s. They both received potentially dangerous electric shocks during their investigations.
On November 24, the two friends set sail for
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
, and after a stay of some months they regained the mainland at
Cartagena, ColombiaCartagena de Indias , is a city on the northern coast of Colombia and capital of Bolívar Department. The metropolitan area has a population of 1,240,000, and the city proper 1,090,000...
. Ascending the swollen stream of the
MagdalenaThe Magdalena River , also called Yuma River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about 1,540 kilometres through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure, Mary Magdalene...
, and crossing the frozen ridges of the
Cordillera RealThe Cordillera Real is a chain of mountains in the Andes of Ecuador, the chief of them volcanic. They are continued in the Cordillera Central of Peru in the South and Cordillera Central of Colombia in the North...
, they reached
QuitoSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
on January 6, 1802, after a tedious and difficult journey. Their stay there was marked by the ascent of
PichinchaPichincha is an active stratovolcano in the country of Ecuador, whose capital Quito wraps around its eastern slopes. The mountain's two highest peaks are the Guagua , which means "child" in Quechua and the Rucu , which means "old person"...
and an attempt on
ChimborazoThe inactive stratovolcano Chimborazo is Ecuador's highest summit. Its last eruption is thought to have occurred some time in the first millennium AD...
. Humboldt and his party reached an altitude of , a world record at the time. The journey concluded with an expedition to the sources of the Amazon
en route for Lima, Peru. At
CallaoCallao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that concentrates...
, Humboldt observed the
transit of MercuryA transit of Mercury across the Sun takes place when the planet Mercury comes between the Sun and the Earth, and Mercury is seen as a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun....
on November 9, and studied the fertilizing properties of
guanoGuano is the excrement of seabirds, bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer and gunpowder ingredient due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. Superphosphate made from guano is used for aerial topdressing...
, the subsequent introduction of which into Europe was due mainly to his writings. A tempestuous sea-voyage brought them to
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where they resided for a year, travelling to different cities. This was followed by a short visit to the United States of America, after which they set sail for Europe from the mouth of the
DelawareThe Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.The Delaware was explored by Adriaen Block as part of the New Netherlands Colony, and was named the South River to mark the southernmost reach of that colony....
, and landed at
Bordeauxis a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department...
on August 3, 1804.
Achievements of the Latin American expedition
This memorable expedition may be regarded as having laid the foundation of the sciences of physical geography and
meteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century...
. By his delineation (in 1817) of "isothermal lines", he at once suggested the idea and devised the means of comparing the climatic conditions of various countries. He first investigated the rate of decrease in mean temperature with the increase in elevation above sea level, and afforded, by his inquiries regarding the origin of tropical storms, the earliest clue to the detection of the more complicated law governing atmospheric disturbances in higher latitudes; while his essay on the geography of plants was based on the then novel idea of studying the distribution of organic life as affected by varying physical conditions. His discovery of the decrease in intensity of Earth's
magnetic fieldMagnetic fields surround magnetic materials and electric currents and are detected by the force they exert on other magnetic materials and moving electric charges...
from the poles to the equator was communicated to the Paris Institute in a memoir read by him on December 7, 1804, and its importance was attested by the speedy emergence of rival claims. His services to geology were based mainly on his attentive study of the
volcano3. Conduit
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Dike
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14. Crater
15...
es of the
New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the non-Afro-Eurasian parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and possibly Australia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia,...
. He showed that they fell naturally into linear groups, presumably corresponding with vast subterranean fissures; and by his demonstration of the
igneousIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types . Igneous rock is formed by magma being cooled and becoming solid. They may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks...
origin of rocks previously held to be of aqueous formation, he contributed largely to the elimination of erroneous views, such as
NeptunismNeptunism is a discredited and obsolete scientific theory of geology proposed by Abraham Werner in the late 18th century that proposed rocks formed from the crystallisation of minerals in the early Earth's oceans....
.
The reduction into form and publication of the encyclopædic mass of scientific, political and archaeological material – collected by him during his absence from Europe – was now Humboldt's most urgent desire. After a short trip to Italy with
Gay-LussacJoseph Louis Gay-Lussac was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for two laws related to gases, and for his work on alcohol-water mixtures, which led to the degrees Gay-Lussac used to measure alcoholic beverages in many countries.- Biography :Gay-Lussac was born at...
for the purpose of investigating the law of
magnetic declinationThe magnetic declination at any point on the Earth is the angle between the local magnetic field—the direction the north end of a compass points—and true north. The declination is positive when the magnetic north is east of true north...
, and a sojourn of two and a half years in his native city, he finally, in the spring of 1808, settled in Paris with the purpose of securing the scientific cooperation required for bringing his great work through the press. This colossal task, which he at first hoped would occupy but two years, eventually cost him twenty-one, and even then it remained incomplete. In these early years in Paris, he shared accommodation and a laboratory with his former rival, and now friend, Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, both working together on the analysis of gases and the composition of the atmosphere.
Humboldt is considered to be the "second discoverer of Cuba" due to all the scientific and social research he conducted on this Spanish colony. During an initial three-month stay at
HavanaHavana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.4 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.7 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region...
, his first tasks were to properly survey that city and the nearby towns of
GuanabacoaGuanabacoa is a colonial township in eastern Havana, Cuba, and one of the 15 municipalities of the city. It is famous for its historical Santería and is home to the first African Cabildo in Havana.-Trivia:...
,
ReglaRegla is one of the 15 municipalities of Havana, Cuba. It comprises the town of Regla, located at the bottom of Havana Bay in a former aborigine settlement named Guaicanamar, in a peninsula dividing Marimelena from Guasabacoa inlets and the village of Casablanca, located and the entry of the...
and
BejucalBejucal is a municipality and city in the La Habana Province of Cuba. It borders to the north Santiago de Las Vegas; to the east with San Antonio de las Vegas and Batabanó; to the south with La Salud; and on the west with San Antonio de los Baños...
.
He befriended Cuban landowner and thinker Francisco Arrango y Parreño; together they visited the area in south Havana, the valleys of
MatanzasMatanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the city of bridges, of...
Province, and the Valley of the Sugar Mills in
TrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of 4,768 km² it is also the fifth...
. Those three areas were, at the time, the first frontier of sugar production in the island. During those trips, Humboldt collected statistical information on Cuba's population, production, technology and trade, and with Arrango, made suggestions for enhancing them. He predicted that the agricultural and commercial potential of Cuba was huge and could be vastly improved with proper leadership in the future. After traveling to America, Humboldt returned to Cuba for a second, shorter stay in April 1804. During this time he socialized with his scientific and landowner friends, conducted mineralogical surveys and finished his vast collection of the island's flora and fauna.
Finally, Humboldt conducted a rudimentary census of the indigenous and European inhabitants in
New SpainThe Viceroyalty of New Spain , was the political unit of Spanish territories in North and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. The territory included the present-day California, Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America , the Caribbean, and the Philippines. It was ruled by a viceroy from...
, and on May 5, 1804, he estimated the population to be six million individuals.
A national rebuff
Matthew Fontaine MauryMatthew Fontaine Maury , United States Navy was an American astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator....
subsequently revealed that
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
had ordered the arrest of Alexander von Humboldt if Humboldt ever came there—that great European scientist, Alexander von Humboldt, who had traveled elsewhere in South America. This alone, Maury said, showed the stupidity of the closed door policy.
Criticism
His writings are known for their fantastical descriptions of the so-called 'new continent', while leaving out its inhabitants. Coming from the
RomanticRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
school of thought, Humboldt believed that '...nature is perfect till man deforms it with care.' In this line of thinking, he largely neglected the human societies amidst this nature. The writing style that describes the 'new world' without people is a trend among explorers both of the past and present. Views of indigenous peoples as 'savage' or 'unimportant' leaves them out of the historical picture.
Humboldt acclaimed
Humboldt was now one of the most famous men in Europe. The acclaimed American painter
Rembrandt PealeRembrandt Peale was a 19th century American artist who received critical acclaim for his portraits of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson...
painted him during his stay, between 1808 and 1810, as one of the most prominent figures in Europe at the time. A chorus of applause greeted him from every side. Academies, both native and foreign, were eager to enroll him among their members. He was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademin is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2 June...
in 1810. King
Frederick William III of PrussiaFrederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
conferred upon him the honour, without exacting the duties, attached to the post of royal chamberlain, together with a pension of 2,500
thalerThe Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
s, afterwards doubled. He refused the appointment of Prussian minister of public instruction in 1810. In 1814 he accompanied the allied sovereigns to London. Three years later he was summoned by the king of Prussia to attend him at the
congress of AachenThe Congress or Conference of Aix-la-Chapelle , held in the autumn of 1818, was primarily a meeting of the four allied powers Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia to decide the question of the withdrawal of the army of occupation from France and the nature of the modifications to be introduced in...
. Again in the autumn of 1822 he accompanied the same monarch to the
congress of VeronaThe Congress of Verona met at Verona on October 20 1822 as part of the series of international conferences or congresses that opened with the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15, which had instituted the Concert of Europe at the close of the Napoleonic Wars....
, proceeded thence with the royal party to Rome and Naples, and returned to Paris in the spring of 1823.
Humboldt had long regarded the French capital as his true home. There he found, not only scientific sympathy, but the social stimulus which his vigorous and healthy mind eagerly craved. He was equally in his element as the lion of the salons and as the savant of the institute and the observatory. During that time he met in 1818, the young and brilliant Peruvian student of the Royal Mining School of Paris,
Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y UstarizMariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz was a prominent Peruvian scientist, geologist, mineralogist, chemist, archaeologist, politician and diplomat...
. They became good friends. Subsequently von Humboldt acted as a mentor of the career of this promising Peruvian scientist. Thus, when at last he received from his sovereign a summons to join his court at Berlin, he obeyed indeed, but with deep and lasting regret. The provincialism of his native city was odious to him. He never ceased to rail against the bigotry without religion, aestheticism without culture, and philosophy without common sense, which he found dominant on the banks of the
SpreeThe Spree is a river in Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin, Germany and in Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic. It is a left tributary of the Havel river and is approximately in length....
. The unremitting benefits and sincere attachment of two well-meaning princes secured his gratitude, but could not appease his discontent. At first he sought relief from the "nebulous atmosphere" of his new abode by frequent visits to Paris; but as years advanced, his excursions were reduced to accompanying the monotonous "oscillations" of the court between
PotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and is part of the Metropolitan area of Berlin/Brandenburg. It is situated on the River Havel, some 25 kilometres southwest of the centre of Berlin....
and Berlin. On May 12, 1827 he settled permanently in the Prussian capital, where his first efforts were directed towards the furtherance of the science of terrestrial magnetism. For many years, it had been one of his favourite schemes to secure, by means of simultaneous observations at distant points, a thorough investigation of the nature and law of "
magnetic stormMagnetic storm can refer to:* A geomagnetic storm* Magnetic Storm , the title of a book of paintings by Roger Dean* Magnetic Storm , the title of an hourlong PBS NOVA documentary about Earth's changing magnetic fields...
s" (a term invented by him to designate abnormal disturbances of
Earth's magnetismEarth's magnetic field is approximately a magnetic dipole, with the magnetic field S pole near the Earth's geographic north pole and the other magnetic field N pole near the Earth's geographic south pole...
). The meeting at Berlin, on September 18, 1828, of a newly-formed scientific association, of which he was elected president, gave him the opportunity of setting on foot an extensive system of research in combination with his diligent personal observations. His appeal to the Russian government, in 1829, led to the establishment of a line of magnetic and meteorological stations across northern Asia. Meanwhile his letter to the
Duke of SussexThe Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex , was the sixth son of George III of the United Kingdom and his consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was the only surviving son of George III who did not pursue an army or naval career.-Early life:His Royal Highness The Prince Augustus...
, then (April 1836) president of the
Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence...
, secured for the undertaking, the wide basis of the
British dominionsThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
.
The
Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, observes, "Thus that scientific conspiracy of nations which is one of the noblest fruits of modern civilization was by his exertions first successfully organized." However, earlier examples of international scientific cooperation exist, notably the 18th-century observations of the transits of Venus.
Explorations in Russia
In 1811, and again in 1818, projects of
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
tic exploration were proposed to Humboldt, first by the Russian government, and afterwards by the Prussian government; but on each occasion, untoward circumstances interposed, and it was not until he had begun his sixtieth year that he resumed his early role of traveller in the interests of science. Between May and November 1829, he, together with his chosen associates, Gustav Rose and C. G. Ehrenberg, traversed the wide expanse of the Russian empire from the Neva to the Yenesei, accomplishing in twenty-five weeks a distance of . The journey, however, though carried out with all the advantages afforded by the immediate patronage of the Russian government, was too rapid to be profitable. Its most important fruits were crabapples, the correction of the prevalent exaggerated estimate of the height of the Central Asian plateau, and the discovery of diamonds in the gold-washings of the Ural, a result which Humboldt's Brazilian experiences enabled him to predict, and by predicting to secure.
Humboldt as diplomat
Between 1830 and 1848 von Humboldt was frequently employed in diplomatic missions to the court of
Louis PhilippeLouis-Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. He was the last king to rule France, although Napoleon III, styled as an emperor, would serve as its last monarch....
, with whom he always maintained the most cordial personal relations.
His brother,
Wilhelm von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt , government functionary, diplomat, philosopher, founder of Humboldt Universität in Berlin, friend of Goethe and in particular of Schiller, is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of...
, died in Alexander's arms on April 8, 1836. The death saddened the later years of his life; Alexander lamented that he had lost half of himself with the death of his brother.
Upon the accession of the crown prince
Frederick William IVKing Frederick William IV of Prussia , the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861...
in June 1840, Humboldt's favour at court increased. Indeed, the new king's craving for Humboldt's company became at times so importunate as to leave him only a few waking hours to work on his writing.
The "Cosmos"
The first two volumes of the
Kosmos were published between the years 1845 and 1847. Humboldt had been intending to write a comprehensive work about different facets of geography and the natural sciences for decades. The writing first took shape in a set of
lectureA public lecture is one means employed for educating the public in the sciences and medicine. The Royal Institution has a long history of public lectures and demonstrations given by prominent experts in the field...
s he delivered before the
University of BerlinThe Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
in the winter of 1827-28. In the words of one biography, these lectures would form "the
cartoonThe word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time....
for the great fresco of the
[K]osmos". The scope of this work may be described as the representation of the unity amidst the complexity of nature. Humboldt's work was by and large a synthesis of Kantian views of unity of natural phenomena. Drawing together the methods and instrumentation of the discrete sciences and with inspiration from
German RomanticismFor the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries...
, Humboldt sought to create a compendium of the world's environment. The book was written for an educated audience and contains much contemporaneous scientific data.
The last decade of his long life — his "improbable" years, as he was accustomed to calling them — was devoted to the continuation of this work, of which the third and fourth volumes were published in 1850-58, while a fragment of a fifth was to appear posthumously in 1862. In these volumes he sought to elaborate upon the individual branches of science broadly surveyed in the first volume. Notwithstanding their high separate value, it must be admitted that, from an artistic point of view, these additions were deformities.
The characteristic idea of the work, so far as such a gigantic idea admitted of literary incorporation, was completely developed in its opening portions, and the attempt to convert it into a scientific encyclopædia was in truth to nullify its generating motive. Humboldt's remarkable industry and accuracy were never more conspicuous than in this latest trophy to his genius. Nor did he rely entirely on his own labours.
He owed much of what he accomplished to his rare power of assimilating thoughts that were not as his own and availing himself of others' cooperation. The notes to
Kosmos overflow with laudatory citations, the current coin in which he discharged his intellectual debts.
Kosmos was very popular, especially in Britain and USA. In 1849 a German newspaper mused about the fact that in England two of the three different translations(!) of this work were made by women, "while in Germany most of the men do not understand it." The first had been made by Augustin Pritchard and published anonymous by Mr. Baillière, volume I in 1845 and volume II in 1848. But it suffered very much from the hurry it was made in. Humboldt wrote in a letter on this translation. "It will damage my reputation. All the charm of my description is destroyed by an English sounding like Sanskrit." The other two translations were made by Mrs. Sabine under the superintendence of her Husband Col.
Edward SabineGeneral Sir Edward Sabine KCB FRS was an Irish astronomer, geophysicist, ornithologist and explorer. He was born in Dublin and died at East Sheen in Surrey....
(4 volumes 1846 – 1858), and by Miss E.C. Otté (5 volumes 1849 – 1858, the only complete translation of the 4 German volumes). These three translations were also published in USA. The numbering of the volumes differ between the German and the English editions. Volume 3 of the German edition corresponds to the volumes 3 and 4 of the English translation, as the German volume appeared in 2 parts in 1850 and 1851. Volume 5 of the German edition was not translated until 1981, again by a woman. A great advantage of the English translation of Miss Otté was its detailed table of contents, and index for every volume; of the German edition only volumes 4 and 5 had an extremely short table of contents. German readers had to wait until the appearance of volume 5 in 1862 for an index.
Not so well known in Germany is the atlas belonging to the German edition of the Cosmos
"Berghaus’ Physikalischer Atlas", better known as the pirated version by Traugott Bromme under the title
"Atlas zu Alexander von Humboldt’s Kosmos" (Stuttgart 1861). In Britain
Heinrich BerghausHeinrich Berghaus was a German geographer.Berghaus was born at Kleve. He was trained as a surveyor, and after volunteering for active service under General Tauentzien in 1813, joined the staff of the Prussian trigonometrical survey in 1816...
planned to publish together with
Alexander Keith JohnstonAlexander Keith Johnston was a Scottish geographer.He was born at Kirkhill near Edinburgh. After an education at the high school and the University of Edinburgh he was apprenticed to an engraver; and in 1826 joined his brother in a printing and engraving business, forming the well-known...
a
"Physical Atlas". But later Johnston published it alone under the title
"The Physical Atlas of Natural Phenomena". In Britain its connection to the
Cosmos seems not have been recognized.
Illness and death
On February 24, 1857 Humboldt suffered a minor
strokeA stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage...
, which passed without perceptible symptoms. It was not until the winter of 1858-1859 that his strength began to decline, and that spring, on May 6, he died quietly in Berlin at the age of 89. The honours which had been showered on him during life continued after his death. His remains, prior to being interred in the family resting-place at
TegelTegel is a locality in the Berlin borough of Reinickendorf at the shore of the Lake Tegel. The Tegel locality also includes the neighbourhood of Saatwinkel.-Historical notes:...
, were conveyed in state through the streets of Berlin, and received by the prince-regent at the door of the cathedral. The first centenary of his birth was celebrated on September 14, 1869, with great enthusiasm in both the New and Old Worlds. Numerous monuments erected in his honour, and newly explored regions named after Humboldt, bear witness to his wide fame and popularity.
Personal life
Much of Humboldt's private life remains a mystery because he destroyed his private letters.
In 1908 the sexual researcher Paul Näcke, who worked with outspoken gay activist
Magnus HirschfeldMagnus Hirschfeld was a gay German physician, sex researcher, and early gay rights advocate.-Early life:Hirschfeld was born in Kolberg in a Jewish family, the son of a highly regarded physician and 'Medizinalrat', Hermann Hirschfeld...
, gathered reminiscences of him from people who recalled his participation in the homosexual subculture of Berlin. A travelling companion, the pious
Francisco José de CaldasFrancisco José de Caldas was a Neogranadine lawyer, naturalist, and geographer who died a martyr by orders of Pablo Morillo during the Reconquista for being a precursor of the Independence of Colombia....
, accused him of frequenting houses where 'impure love reigned', of making friends with 'obscene dissolute youths', and giving vent to 'shameful passions of his heart'. To be sure, none of this necessarily proves homosexuality. On the question of homosexuality, author Robert F. Aldrich concludes, "As for so many men of his age, a definite answer is impossible."
Throughout his life Humboldt formed strong emotional attachments to men. To the soldier Reinhard von Haeften he wrote: "I know that I live only through you, my good precious Reinhard, and that I can only be happy in your presence." He never married, yet there were two notable exceptions where he seemed to have been drawn to the opposite sex. The first was an adolescent infatuation with
Henriette HerzHenriette Herz was a close friend of Dorothea Mendelssohn, daughter of the famous Jewish thinker Moses Mendelssohn...
, the beautiful wife of Marcus Herz, his mentor, and the second was a short lived but intimate relationship with a woman named Pauline Wiesel in 1808 Paris. He was strongly attached to his brother's family; and in his later years the somewhat arbitrary sway of an old and faithful servant held him in more than matrimonial bondage. By a singular example of generosity (or some people would say weakness), he executed, four years before his death, a deed of gift transferring to this man Seifert the absolute possession of his entire property. No undue advantage appears to have been taken of this extraordinary concession.
The clue to his inner life might well be found in a certain egotism of self-culture scarcely separable from the promptings of genius. Yet his attachments, once formed, were sincere and lasting. He made innumerable friends; and it does not stand on record that he ever lost one. His benevolence was throughout his life active and disinterested. His early zeal for the improvement of the condition of the miners in
GaliciaGalicia is a historical region in East-Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, named after the Ukraіniаn city of Halych. The nucleus of historic Galicia is formed of three regions of western Ukraine: Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk.-Tribal area:The region has a turbulent...
and
FranconiaFranconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a part of southern Thuringia, and a much smaller region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Heilbronn-Franken...
, his consistent detestation of slavery, his earnest patronage of rising men of science, bear witness to the large humanity which formed the ground-work of his character.
The faults of his old age have been brought into undue prominence by the injudicious publication of his letters to Varnhagen von Ense. The chief of these was his habit of smooth speaking, almost amounting to flattery, which formed a painful contrast with the caustic sarcasm of his confidential utterances. His vanity, at all times conspicuous, was tempered by his sense of humour, and was so frankly avowed as to invite sympathy rather than provoke ridicule. After every deduction has been made, he yet stands before us as a colossal figure, not unworthy to take his place beside Goethe as the representative of the scientific side of the culture of his country.
Species named after Humboldt
-
- See also the list of things named for Alexander von Humboldt.
As a consequence of his explorations, von Humboldt described many geographical features and species of life that were hitherto unknown to Europeans. Species named after him include:
- Spheniscus humboldti — Humboldt penguin
- Dosidicus gigas — Humboldt squid
- Lilium humboldtii
Lilium humboldtii is a species of lily endemic to California named after naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt...
— Humboldt's lily
- Phragmipedium humboldtii — an orchid
- Quercus humboldtii — South American (Andean) oak
- Conepatus humboldtii — Humboldt's Hog-nosed skunk
- Annona humboldtii — Neotropical tree or shrub
- Annona humboldtiana — Neotropical tree or shrub
- Utricularia humboldtii
Utricularia humboldtii is a large perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. Peter Taylor lists it as either an "aquatic-epiphyte", a subaquatic or a terrestrial species. U. humboldtii is endemic to South America, where it is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela. It...
— a bladderwort
- Geranium humboldtii — a cranesbill
- Salix humboldtiana — a South-American willow. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SAHU
- Inia geoffrensis humboldtiana
The Amazon River Dolphin, alternately Bufeo, Bufeo Colorado, Boto, Boto Cor de Rosa, Boutu, Nay, Tonina, or Pink River Dolphin , is a freshwater river dolphin endemic to the Orinoco, Amazon and Araguaia/Tocantins River systems of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela...
— Amazon River Dolphin subspecies living at Orinoco River basin
Geographical features named after Humboldt
Features named after him include the following:
- Humboldt Bay — Bay in Northern California
- Humboldt Current
The Humboldt Current is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north-westward along the west coast of South America from the southern tip of Chile to northern Peru. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and can extend 1,000 kilometers offshore...
— off the west coast of South America
- Humboldt River
The Humboldt River runs through northern Nevada in the western United States. At approximately long, it is the longest river in the arid Great Basin of North America. It has no outlet to the ocean, but instead empties into the Humboldt Sink. It is the largest river in the United States, in terms...
-- River in western United States
- Humboldt Peak (Colorado)
Humboldt Peak is a high peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado. It is the least challenging climb of the Crestone group of fourteeners, which include Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, and Kit Carson Peak...
-- 4,287 meter mountain in Custer County, Colorado, United States
- Humboldt Sink
Humboldt Sink is an intermittent dry lake bed, approximately 11 mi long, and 4 mi across, in northwestern Nevada in the United States...
-- Dry lake bed in Nevada
- East
The East Humboldt Range is a line of mountains in northeastern Nevada in the Great Basin region of the western United States. It located in central Elko County in the upper watershed of the Humboldt River, which flows to the southwest from its source just north of the range.The East Humboldts run...
and West Humboldt RangeThe West Humboldt Range is a short mountain range in the western Great Basin in northwestern Nevada in the United States. It runs for approximately 40 mi southwest to northeast in northern Churchill County and southern Pershing County...
.
- Venezuela's first-designated national monument (the "Monumento Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt") at Caripe
Caripe is the name of a town and municipality in the mountainous north of the state of Monagas in eastern Venezuela.The soil of the Caripe valley is very fertile, and the climate of the area is exceptionally pleasant, a result of its altitude , latitude , and proximity to the Caribbean Sea...
.
Places named after Humboldt
The following places are named for Humboldt:
- Humboldt, South Dakota
Humboldt is a town in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 521 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Humboldt is located at ....
, United States
- Humboldt, Nebraska
Humboldt is a city in Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 941 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Humboldt is located at ....
, United States
- Humboldt, Tennessee
Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 9,467 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Jackson, Tennessee-Humboldt, Tennessee...
, United States
- Humboldt, Kansas
Humboldt is a city situated along the Neosho River in the southwest part of Allen County, located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The population was 1,999 at the 2000 census, and it was estimated to be in the year . Humboldt only has one traffic light.-History:Humboldt, named...
, United States
- Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is located on the far North Coast of California, about 200 miles north of San Francisco. In the 2000 census, the county had a population of 126,518. The two largest population centers are Eureka, the county seat, and the smaller college town of Arcata, home to Humboldt State...
, United States
- Humboldt County, Nevada
Humboldt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of 2007, the population was estimated to be 18,052 . Its county seat is Winnemucca.The county was the site of an arrest in 2000 that led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Hiibel v...
, United States
- Humboldt County, Iowa
Humboldt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was created in 1857 and is named in honor of Alexander von Humboldt. As of 2000, the population was 10,381. Its county seat is Dakota City.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, United States
- Humboldt, Saskatchewan
Humboldt is a Canadian city located in the province of Saskatchewan, 113 km east of Saskatoon at the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 20...
, Canada
- Humboldt Junior High School, Saint Paul, MN, United States
- Humboldt Senior High School, Saint Paul, MN, United States
- Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt
Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humbolt is a German school with bi-cultural fundamentals based in Mexico. Its history begins in the 19th century, with the already large German community living in Mexico, believing in establishing a school with standards similar to those of Germany. The first school is...
, Mexico City Mexico.
- Humboldt Park
Humboldt Park located on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. The name may be used to describe the area as a community or the actual 207 acre park itself...
: an official Community Area and park in Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Humboldt Peak (Pico Humboldt)
Pico Humboldt is Venezuela's second highest peak, at 4,940 metres above sea level. It is located in the Sierra Nevada de Merida, in the Venezuelan Andes of...
Mérida State, Venezuela
- Alejandro de Humboldt National Park
Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt is a national park in the Cuban provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo. It is named after the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt who visited the island in 1800 and 1801...
, CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
- Alexander von Humboldt National Forest
The Alexander von Humboldt National Forest is a national forest of Peru.This zone Alexander Von Humboldt published by means of R.M is shaped by the National Forest. Nº 0574-99-AG, corresponding to the department of Ucayali and Areas Authorized for the Use of Incidental Teams to the motosierra named...
in PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
- Alejandro de Humboldt University, Venezuela
Venezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
- Humboldt Hotel in Cerro El Ávila
Cerro El Ávila , usually just referred to as "El Ávila," is a mountain in the mid-north of Venezuela. The mountain rises next to the capital Caracas and separates the city from the Caribbean Sea. It is a National Park.-External links:...
, Venezuela
- Humboldt Street in Brooklyn
Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
, New York
The
Mare HumboldtianumMare Humboldtianum is a lunar mare located within the Humboldtianum basin, just to the east of Mare Frigoris. It is located along the northeastern limb of the Moon, and continues on to the far side...
lunar mareThe lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and...
is named after him, as is the
asteroidthumb|260px|right|[[253 Mathilde]], a [[C-type asteroid]] measuring about across. Photograph taken in 1997 by the [[NEAR Shoemaker]] probe.Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, especially in the inner Solar System; they are...
54 Alexandra54 Alexandra is a very large and dark main belt asteroid. It was discovered by H. Goldschmidt on September 10, 1858 and named after the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt. On May 17, 2005 this asteroid occulted a faint star and the event was observed and timed in a number of locations within...
.
Universities and colleges
The
Humboldt Tropical Medicine Institute at Cayetano Heredia University,
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
, was named after Alexander von Humboldt, as well as
Humboldt State UniversityHumboldt State University is the northernmost campus of the California State University system, located in Arcata within Humboldt County, California, USA. The main campus, nestled at the edge of a coast redwood forest, is situated on Preston hill overlooking Arcata and with commanding views of...
in
Arcata, CaliforniaArcata is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. In 2006 Arcata's population was estimated to be 17,294...
, Alexander Von Humboldt school in
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
, Several
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
schools (including
Humboldt University of BerlinThe Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
) are named after Alexander's
brother WilhelmFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt , government functionary, diplomat, philosopher, founder of Humboldt Universität in Berlin, friend of Goethe and in particular of Schiller, is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of...
. In Montréal the German International School was named after
Alexander von HumboldtThe Alexander von Humboldt Schule Montréal - German International School was founded in 1981. It is located in Baie-d'Urfé in the suburbs of Montréal. In 2007 the school had about 250 students. It offers a German/Québécois Curriculum.- History :The school was founded to offer a German education...
, as well as the Humboldt Schule in San Jose Costa Rica. Universidad Alejandro de Humboldt, in Caracas, Venezuela, is another university named after him.
Alexander Von Humboldt also lends his name to a prominent lecture series in
Human geography-Scope:Human geography broadly differs from physical geography in that it has a greater focus on studying intangible or abstract patterns surrounding human activity and is more receptive to qualitative research methodologies. It encompasses human, political, cultural, social and economic aspects of...
in the Netherlands (hosted by the
Radboud University NijmegenThe Radboud University Nijmegen is a university in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.-History:The Radboud University Nijmegen was established in 1923 as the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, or Catholic University of Nijmegen. It started with 27 professors and 189 students. The RU was founded because the...
). It is the Dutch equivalent of the widely known annual
HettnerAlfred Hettner was a German geographer.He is known for his concept of chorology, the study of places and regions.- Literary works :...
lectures at the University of Heidelberg.
Then President of
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
,
Benito JuarezBenito Pablo Juárez García was a Zapotec Amerindian who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
, gave him honorary Mexican citizenship.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
After his death, his friends and colleagues created the
Alexander von Humboldt FoundationThe Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a foundation of the German government for the promotion of international cooperation in the field of scientific research...
(
Stiftung in German) to continue von Humboldt's generous support of young scientists. Although the original endowment was lost in the German hyperinflation of the 1920s, and again as a result of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Foundation has been re-endowed by the German government to award young scientists and distinguished senior scientists from abroad. It plays an important role in attracting foreign researchers to work in Germany and enabling German researchers to work abroad for a period.
Dedications
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the...
dedicated his last major work,
Eureka: A Prose Poem, to von Humboldt. Humboldt's attempt to unify the sciences in his
Kosmos was a big inspiration for Poe's project.
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
makes frequent reference to Humboldt's work in his
Voyage of the BeagleThe Voyage of the Beagle is a title commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin published in 1839 as his Journal and Remarks, which brought him considerable fame and respect...
, where Darwin describes his own scientific exploration of the Americas.
Recognitions by contemporaries
Wilhelm von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt , government functionary, diplomat, philosopher, founder of Humboldt Universität in Berlin, friend of Goethe and in particular of Schiller, is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of...
: "
Alexander is destined to combine ideas and follow chains of thoughts which would otherwise have remained unknown for ages. His depth, his sharp mind and his incredible speed are a rare combination."
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
: "He was the greatest travelling scientist who ever lived.
" – "I have always admired him; now I worship him.
"
Johann Wolfgang Goethe: "Humboldt showers us with true treasures.
"
Friedrich SchillerJohann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [johan/joːhan krɪstɔf friːtʁɪç fɔn ʃɪləʁ/ʃɪlɐ] was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright...
: "Alexander impresses many, particularly when compared to his brother - because he shows off more!
"
Simón BolívarSimón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte Blanco, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a South American political leader...
: "Alexander von Humboldt has done more for America than all its conquerors, he is the true discoverer of America.
"
José de la Luz y CaballeroJosé Cipriano de la Luz y Caballero was a Cuban scholar, acclaimed by José Martí as "the father ... the silent layer of foundations" in Cuban intellectual life of the 19th Century...
: "Columbus gave Europe a New World; Humboldt made it known in its physical, material, intellectual, and moral aspects.
"
Napoléon Bonaparte: "You have been studying Botanics? Just like my wife!
"
Claude Louis BertholletClaude Louis Berthollet was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804.-Biography:...
: "This man is as knowledgeable as a whole academy.
"
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
: "I consider him the most important scientist whom I have met.
"
Emil Du Bois-ReymondEmil du Bois-Reymond was a German physician and physiologist, the discoverer of nerve action potential, and the father of experimental electrophysiology.-Life:...
: "Every scientist is a descendant of Humboldt. We are all his family.
"
Robert G. IngersollColonel Robert Green Ingersoll was a Civil War veteran, American political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism.-Biography:...
: "He was to science what Shakespeare was to the drama.
"
Biographies and other works
A good biography of Humboldt is that of Professor Karl Bruhns (3 vols., 8vo, Leipzig, 1872), translated into English by the Misses Lasseil in 1873. A good 1852 biography, 'Lives of the Brothers Humboldt' is freely available (see external links below). Brief accounts of his career are given by A. Dove in Allgemeine Deutsche BiographieAllgemeine Deutsche Biographie is one of the most important and most comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language....
, and by S. Gunther in Alexander von Humboldt
(Berlin, 1900).
Le voyage aux régions equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent, fait en 1799-1804, par Alexandre de Humboldt et Aimé Bonpland (Paris, 1807, etc.), consisted of thirty folio and quarto volumes, and comprised a considerable number of subordinate but important works. Among these may be enumerated
Vue des Cordillères et monuments des peuples indigènes de l'Amérique
(2 vols. folio, 1810);
Examen critique de l'histoire de la géographie du Nouveau Continent
(1814-1834);
Atlas géographique et physique du royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne
(1811);
Essai politique sur le royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne
(1811);
Essai sur la géographie des plantes
(1805, now very rare);
Relation historique
(1814-1825), an unfinished narrative of his travels, including the Essai politique sur l'île de Cuba
.
Monographie des melastomacées
(1833)
The genera et species plantarum (7 vols. folio, 1815-1825), containing descriptions of above 4500 species of plants collected by Humboldt and Bonpland, was mainly compiled by Carl Sigismund KunthCarl Sigismund Kunth , also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist...
; J. Oltmanns assisted in preparing the Recueil d'observations astronomiques
(1808); Cuvier, Latreille, Valenciennes and Gay-Lussac cooperated in the Recueil d'observations de zoologie et d'anatomie comparée
(1805-1833).
Humboldt's Ansichten der Natur
(Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1808) went through three editions in his lifetime, and was translated into nearly every European language.
The results of his Asiatic journey were published in Fragments de géologie et de climatologie asiatiques
(2 vols. 8vo, 1831), and in Asie centrale
(3 vols. 8vo, 1843) an enlargement of the earlier work. The memoirs and papers read by him before scientific societies, or contributed by him to scientific periodicals, are too numerous for specification.
Humboldt's effect on American scientists and environmentalists (Clarence KingClarence King was an American geologist, mountaineer, and art critic. First director of the United States Geological Survey, from 1879 to 1881, King was noted for his exploration of the Sierra Nevada. He was born in Newport, Rhode Island.-Career:In 1862, King graduated from the Sheffield...
, Jeremiah N. ReynoldsJeremiah N. Reynolds , also known as J.N. Reynolds, was an American newspaper editor, lecturer, explorer and author who became an influential advocate for scientific expeditions...
, George Wallace Melville, and John MuirJohn Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of U.S. wilderness. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, have been read by millions and are still popular today...
) is examined in The Humboldt Current: Nineteenth Century Exploration and the Roots of American Environmentalism,
by Aaron Sachs (Viking, 2006).
Gerard Helferich's 2004 biography "Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed the World". The book provides a descriptive account of Humboldt's journey through Latin America that utilizes the journal and notes of Humboldt himself. (Gotham Books, 2004)
Daniel KehlmannDaniel Kehlmann is a German language author of both Austrian and German nationality. His work Die Vermessung der Welt is the biggest selling novel in the German language since Patrick Süskind's Perfume was released in 1985...
's 2005 novel Die Vermessung der Welt,
translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway as Measuring the World: a Novel
in 2006, explores von Humboldt's life through a lens of historical fiction, contrasting his character and contributions to science to those of Carl Friedrich GaussJohann Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics...
.
An essay entitled Journey to the Top of the World
details Humboldt's South American exploration and America's interest in him. The essay is chapter one of David McCullough's book, Brave Companions: Portraits in HistoryBrave Companions: Portraits in History is a 1992 book by American historian David McCullough.The book consists of previously published essays, most of which are biographical portraits of a specific historical figure or group of figures. It is divided into five sections.-Contents:I...
, (Prentice Hall Press, 1992).
Humboldt's correspondence
Since his death, considerable portions of his correspondence have been made public. The first of these, in order both of time and of importance, is his Briefe an Varnhagen von Ense
(Leipzig, 1860). This was followed, in rapid succession, by Briefwechsel mit einem jungen Freunde
(Friedrich Althaus, Berlin, 1861); Briefwechsel mit Heinrich Berghaus
(3 vols., Jena, 1863); Correspondence scientifique e littéraire
(2 vols., Paris, 1865?1869); "Lettres à Marc-Aug. Pictet", published in Le Globe
, tome vii. (Geneva, 1868); Briefe an Bunsen
(Leipzig, 1869); Briefe zwischen Humboldt und Gauss
(1877); Briefe an seinen Bruder Wilhelm
(Stuttgart, 1880); Jugendbriefe an W. G. Wegener
(Leipzig, 1896); in addition to some other collections of lesser importance. An octavo edition of Humboldt's principal works was published in Paris by Tb. Morgand (1864-1866). See also, Karl von Baer, Bulletin de l'acad. des sciences de St-Pétersbourg
, xvii. 529 (1859); R. Murchison, Proceedings, Geog. Society of London, vi. (1859); L. Agassiz, American Jour. of Science, xxviii. 96 (1859); Proc. Roy. Society, X. xxxix.; A. Quetelet, Annuaire de l'acad. des sciences (Brussels, 1860), p. 97; J. Mädler, Geschichte der Himmelskunde,
ii. 113; J.C.Houzeau, Bibl. astronomique, ii. 168 (A. M. C.).
See also
- Humboldtian science
Humboldtian science is a term given to the movement in science in the 19th century. The ideals and central themes of Humboldtian science are the result of the work of German scientist Alexander von Humboldt...
- List of explorers
- Ecology
Ecology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
- History of biology
The history of biology traces the study of the living world from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of biology as a single coherent field arose in the 19th century, the biological sciences emerged from traditions of medicine and natural history reaching back to ancient Egyptian medicine...
- Aimé Bonpland
Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
External links
Portal
Sources
Misc
- "Alexander von Humboldt", from In Our Time
In Our Time is a live BBC radio discussion programme hosted by Melvyn Bragg. Each week, three guest speakers cover a specific historical, philosophical, religious, artistic or scientific topic...
, a 45 minutes BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
program.
- Alexander von Humboldt featured on the 5 East German Mark banknote from 1964