Alexander von Humboldt

German explorer and scientist

• Born: September 14, 1769
• Birthplace: Berlin, Prussia (now in Germany)
• Died: May 6, 1859
• Place of death: Berlin, Prussia (now in Germany)

One of the founders of modern science and scientific methods, Humboldt undertook a famous four-year expedition to the Americas that led to the development of the new sciences of geography, plant geography, and meteorology. He took a holistic view of science, insisting on seeing each geographical site as a whole that encompassed climate, elevation, and distribution of plants, animals, and natural resources.

Early Life

At the time of Alexander von Humboldt’s birth, his family was not part of the ancient Prussian nobility. The title of baron that he would later inherit had only been in the family a few generations. Alexander’s father, Major Alexander George von Humboldt, had fought in the Seven Years’ War in the Prussian army and later became adjutant to the duke of Braunschweig. Because he was not of the ancient Prussian elite, Major Humboldt decided that his sons would not become military men, but scientists and politicians.

Alexander was the younger of two brothers, both destined to become famous scholars—albeit in different fields. His other brother, Wilhelm, was early perceived to be the one with scholastic aptitude, whereas Alexander did not seem interested in academic pursuits. He liked nature and spent much of his childhood in the parks surrounding his childhood home, Schloss Tegel, near Berlin. He also showed early talent for map drawing and reading, and for drawing nature.

The two brothers were, from the earliest years, inseparable and would remain so throughout their lives. They were only two years apart, and at least one biographer claims that the strong bonding between them compensated for some degree of parental neglect—especially of Alexander because of his perceived lack of talent.

Alexander read one of Georg Forster’s works on the South Sea Islands while he was still quite young, and a desire to see the tropics was born in him. He fell in love with the dragon tree and dreamed of seeing one in real life. He collected plants, insects, birds’ eggs, and rocks.

The two brothers were initially taught at home by tutors, but eventually Wilhelm went to university, and Alexander followed. The brothers studied at the University of Frankfurt an der Oder and later at the University of Göttingen. While Wilhelm studied philology and philosophy, Alexander focused his studies on mineralogy.

From his earliest years, Alexander had planned to undertake a major scientific journey. His studies and pursuits were all focused on this goal. In 1792, however, he was employed by the Prussian government as superintendent of mines. He worked in this capacity until 1797, gaining valuable experience. From 1797 to 1799, he prepared himself for his great journey.

Life’s Work

While still a child, Humboldt met the towering spirit of his time, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . Later, in 1797, he spent three full months in the company of the great poet and scientific theoretician. The exposure to Goethe and his ideas about nature and science became central to Humboldt. His life’s work became the practical application of some of the key aspects of Goethe’s theories: He saw the world as a Naturganzes, or natural whole. To the Romantic theory he added an emphasis on stringent empirical observation.

With his theoretical and scientific baggage securely packed in his fine mind, Humboldt embarked from La Coruña in Spain on June 5, 1799, on his expedition to the Americas. His companion on the trip was the French botanist Aimé Bonpland. The two scientists had strong mutual respect and divided the work between them, Bonpland being primarily responsible for collecting and studying plants.

The expedition was to last four years, from 1799 to 1803. The first part was focused on the Orinoco River in Venezuela, where Humboldt first tested his holistic theory, or his “idea of the physical nature of the world.” He was interested in correlating facts and observations rather than in individual facts. He studied the biology, geology, geophysics, archaeology, and meteorology of the areas through which he passed. The two companions traveled the entire length of the seventeen-hundred-mile-long Orinoco River on foot and by canoe. Interestingly, the hardships of this travel restored Humboldt’s health. For his entire youth, he had been frail and sickly, and he emerged from his trip along the Orinoco River the very image of good health. Contemporaries describe him as a short, healthy-looking, robust, and powerfully built man.

The work describing the trip and Humboldt’s findings did not appear until many years later. It was published in French, because the bulk of Humboldt’s life after the trip was spent in Paris. The work was published in thirty-three volumes under the title Voyage aux régions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent, fait en 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, et 1804, par A. de Humboldt et A. Bonpland (1805-1834; a historical description of the voyage to the tropical regions of the new continent made in 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804, by Al. de Humboldt and A. Bonpland).

The eighteenth century was an age of grand voyages and explorations. Humboldt’s expedition fits the pattern, but there was a difference: His voyage had infinitely more repercussions for the future of science than probably any other until Charles Darwin’s famous voyage on the Beagle a half-century later. Humboldt had a program. He firmly believed that nature embodied an overarching idea and that studying nature as a whole and overlooking no aspect, however apparently insignificant, would bring him closer to an understanding of the idea.

Humboldt believed that there is a unity to the cosmos and to the world. He saw this not as a phylogenetic unity of evolution but as a Platonic, idealistic unity: He thought that for each type of animal or plant there was a prototype. Another aspect of this unity is the so-called compensation principle (also known as metamorphosis or transformation), which states that if an animal or plant is strongly developed in one aspect, it will be lacking in some other aspect. Thus, if the giraffe has a long neck, it must be less developed somewhere else. This type of thinking was typical for Goethe and his followers. Although the static, idealistic aspects of Humboldt’s theorizing have since been abandoned in favor of evolutionary ones, the idea of studying environments as integrated wholes and the emphasis on empirical observation are central to modern geography and ecology. Exactly those aspects of his work have earned for him the reputation as a founder of modern geography.

Humboldt and Bonpland proceeded to Mexico, Peru, and Cuba to conduct further studies. They not only continued their meticulous studies of ecosystems wherever they went but also took the time to study indigenous cultures, dabble in archaeology, and take a fresh look at the Spanish-speaking societies of the New World. One witness who encountered them in Quito, Ecuador, recounts that Humboldt, after a long day’s work of studying plants, minerals, and soil types, would spend most of the night gazing at the stars.

Many rivers, mountains, and counties in the New World bear Humboldt’s name, and the entire expedition was a great success. He returned to Europe in 1804, sailing from Philadelphia to Bordeaux. Humboldt lived in Paris, working on his life’s project. When the work was complete and his inheritance spent, he accepted a job as chamberlain of the Prussian court and lived the rest of his life in Berlin. However, he made one more substantial trip. At the request of the Russian czar, he visited the Urals, the Altai, and parts of China. The purpose of the trip was to give advice regarding the economic exploitation of the areas covered on the trip. The scientific outcome of Humboldt’s last major trip was meager compared to his trip to the Americas, but it was a success in terms of its stated goals. Humboldt could indeed give lucrative advice and make predictions with regard to the mineralogical composition of the Urals. Humboldt lived to the age of eighty-nine and worked until the end. He died on May 6, 1859, in Berlin.

Significance

Alexander von Humboldt represents the emergence of modern empirical science. He was a child of his times in that his theoretical ideas about the world were rooted in German Romanticism and in that he joined many of his contemporaries in exploring parts of the world that were comparatively new to Europeans. However, he also broke the mold by combining his Romantic idealism with a hard-nosed empiricism that helped usher in the new age of technology and science.

Humboldt was amazingly eclectic. He studied plants, rocks, volcanoes, fauna, archaeology, and comparative religions, and he studied everything in minute detail. The thirty-three volumes that constitute Humboldt’s testimony to future scientists contain not only a catalog of his physiognomic-typological primary forms of plants but also the painstakingly accurate descriptions of ecological systems that have made his scientific heirs name him the founder of not only geography but also the specialized field of plant geography and modern, systematic, and scientific meteorology.

Bibliography

Bowler, Peter J. “Climb Chimborazo and See the World.” Science 298, no. 5591 (October 4, 2002): 63. Provides an overview of Humboldt’s personal life and work, including his influence on the development of natural evolution, his exploration in Latin America, and his contributions to science.

Gendron, Val. The Dragon Tree: A Life of Alexander, Baron von Humboldt. New York: Longmans, Green, 1961. More than anything else a psychological portrait of Humboldt. The approach is Freudian and verges, from time to time, on hero-worship. Written entertainingly, with bits of dialogue between the protagonist and his friends and colleagues. Especially good description of Humboldt’s early life and relationships with his parents and brother.

Helferich, Gerard. Humboldt’s Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey That Changed the Way We See the World. New York: Gotham Books, 2004. Re-creates Humboldt’s expedition to Latin America, describing in meticulous detail the conditions of the voyage, the terrain and climate in each country Humboldt visited, and the voyage’s significance.

Kellner, L. Alexander von Humboldt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1963. A solid, scholarly biography. Relates Humboldt’s early life as it emerges from the record without Freudian or other interpretations. Excellent account of the two major expeditions and of their scientific import.

Klencke, W. Alexander von Humboldt: A Biographical Monument. London: Ingram, Cooke, 1852. Focuses on the role of the Humboldt brothers in the emergence of modern Germany. A political monument that contains a good description of Humboldt’s early life and his education.

Meyer-Abich, Adolph. “Alexander von Humboldt and the Science of the Nineteenth Century.” In Biological Contributions: A Collection of Essays and Research Articles Dedicated to John Thomas Patterson on the Occasion of His Fiftieth Birthday. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1959. A good exposition of eighteenth century scientific ideas and beliefs. Sets the intellectual stage for Humboldt’s achievements, primarily by explaining Goethe’s scientific views: the holism, the types, and the compensation principle. Explains Humboldt’s law of plant geography, which states, among other things, that the same type of climate will foster the same types of flora and fauna. Gives a list of the nineteen plant types Humboldt established. Compares Humboldt’s scientific theories to such later developments as mechanism and evolutionary theory.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “Humboldt’s Exploration in the American Tropics.” The Texas Quarterly 1 (1958). Brief but full description of Humboldt’s life and major expeditions. The focus is on exploring the nature of Humboldt’s achievement. Outlines Humboldt’s education and gives a good picture of the intellectual community to which he belonged.