Humboldt

Alexander von Humboldt (September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859) is one of my heroes.

He’s the father of Geography in my eyes and is just such an interesting person.

I wish I could have listened to his lectures, read in his library or joined him on one of his expeditions.

I’ve been reading The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf and it’s amazing how much he did by my age and all his life, he accomplished so much and was extremely smart. (By the way, the book is wonderful and I highly recommend it.)
If I could meet anyone from the past it would be him:

• 

• 

Once I began learning more about Humboldt, I started to value my Earth Science, Geography degree even more – it suits me.

Alexander von Humboldt’s life and legacy is so inspiring, he was famous in his day, but he never married or had children. A few places are named after him, there’s even a Humboldt, TN not too far from me. But many people I’ve asked don’t know him. Every Geography student should.

I wonder what he would think now – during the Age of Enlightenment, they had no idea the future would become plastic. He was already concerned with deforestation, irrigation, climate change, exploitation, devastation of the environment and the tribal culture by colonialism. (p. 105) But he’d probably be impressed with present day map making using GIS. I like to imagine how Humboldt walked for hours just to map and measure everything – he was truly a person who lived to learn. He definitely deserves to be highlighted on my blog.