Alexander von Humboldt
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Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt (info • help) (September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859) was a Prussian naturalist and explorer. His older brother was the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt. Humboldt's work on botanical geography was very important in the field of biogeography.
Humboldt was born in Berlin. His father, Alexander Georg von Humboldt, was a rewarded major in the Prussian Army. He married Maria Elizabeth von Colomb in 1766 and had by her two sons. The younger son was Alexander.
In his childhood Humboldt already liked to collect plants, shells, and insects. Humboldt's father died very early (in 1799). From that time on his mother took care of his education.
Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt travelled to Latin America and was the first scientist who wrote about it. He was one of the first who said that South America and Africa was once one continent. Late in his life he attempted to bring together different fields of science in his work Kosmos.
[change] Other websites
- The website of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
- Works by Alexander von Humboldt at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Alexander von Humboldt at Internet Archive
- "Lives of the Brothers Humboldt" an extensive biography available from the Million Book Project:
- Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie: biography of Humboldt at Wikisource
- Online version of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New World
- "Alexander von Humboldt", from In Our Time, a 45 minutes BBC Radio 4 program.
This article includes text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please add to the article as needed.
