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Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859)
Humboldt, Alexander von (hum’bōlt). A German scientist and writer on science, brother of Wilhelm; born in Berlin, Sept. 14, 1769; died there, May 6, 1859. His educational opportunities were worthy of his splendid intellectual gifts. From childhood he delighted in zoölogical, physical, and geographical investigations. At twenty-eight, on the death of his mother, he began the series of voyages memorable in the annals of science. No name is likely ever to stand higher on his country’s roll than his: the ‘Cosmos’ is a sufficient proof, besides ‘Voyages to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent’; ‘View of the Cordilleras and of the Monuments of the Indigenous Races of America’; ‘Observations on Zoölogy and Comparative Anatomy’; and a wealth of similar works. (See Critical and Biographical Introduction).