Alexander von humboldt contribution to geography

Alexander von Humboldt

1. Life and Works

1.1 Early Life and Education

Alexander von Humboldt—the son of Alexander Georg Humboldt, a Prussian army officer, and the widow Marie-Elisabeth von Holwede (née Colomb)—was born in Berlin on 14 September 1769. His brother, Wilhelm, was born two years earlier, and both children were raised at the Tegel Castle, in the east of Berlin. The later King Friedrich Wilhelm II was Humboldt’s godfather.

As was common for aristocratic families at the time, the Humboldt brothers received their education from private tutors, including Joachim Heinrich Campe and Gottlob Johann Christian Kunth, and had lessons with Kant’s former student, Markus Herz. Herz introduced them to physical geography, and to his wife’s salon. The two brothers were regular attendees at Henriette Herz’s salon, and Alexander exchanged a significant set of letters with Herz (Hey’l 2007). In addition, the brothers were tutored by the botanist, Karl Ludwig Willdenow (1765–1812), whose writing on Berlin’s flora influenced

Alexander von Humboldt

German geographer, naturalist and explorer (1769–1859)

For other uses, see Alexander von Humboldt (disambiguation).

Alexander von Humboldt

Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler (1843)

Born14 September 1769

Berlin, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire

Died6 May 1859(1859-05-06) (aged 89)

Berlin, Prussia, German Confederation

Resting placeSchloss Tegel
Alma materUniversity of Frankfurt (Oder)
University of Göttingen
Freiberg School of Mines (diploma, 1792)
Known forBiogeography, Kosmos (1845–1862), Humboldt Current, magnetic storm, Humboldtian science, Berlin Romanticism[1]
AwardsCopley Medal (1852)
Scientific career
FieldsGeography
Academic advisorsMarkus Herz, Carl Ludwig Willdenow, Abraham Gottlob Werner

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt[a] (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science.[5] He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, phi

Alexander von Humboldt: A Concise Biography

"The discoveries of the Prussian nobleman, cave botanist, and humanitarian Alexander von Humboldt, who was born in 1769, are the central attraction of this concise biography. . . . Daum interweaves these exploits with noteworthy episodes that took place during the nine decades of Humboldt’s life."—New Yorker

"The key virtue of this biography is its concision, and Daum does an admirable job of sorting through Humboldt’s numerous contradictions. . . . This gets the job done."—Publishers Weekly

"Offering a compact yet thorough account, this biography examines all stages of Humboldt’s life, his personality, prolific works, and the intellectual networks that shaped him."—The Flora Journal

"This book is a fascinating and readable account—partly due to its brevity—of the life of an important scientist much ignored by modern scholarship."—Ian Mitchell, Think Scotland

"An impressively balanced and engaging account of Alexander von Humboldt’s importance during his lifetim

Copyright ©raldock.pages.dev 2025