Nowadays he is not well remembered, but in his time Alexander Humboldt was perhaps the most famous and widely-admired man in the world. A man of extraordinary genius who made ground-breaking discoveries in a wide range of scientific fields, Humboldt was best known as a naturalist, explorer, and world traveler. Prussian by birth, Humboldt spoke and wrote in several languages and lived for decades in Paris. Equally at ease lecturing in a prestigious European university, or trekking through a South American jungle, across the world Humboldt was regarded as the ideal modern man—a cosmopolitan polymath.
Humboldt had a special affinity for America and the ideals of the young republic (he once said that he considered himself “half American”), and Americans returned it in their admiration of him. Dozens of towns, counties and geographic features across America and named for Humboldt and the territory that came to be called Nevada was nearly named “Humboldt” instead.
Humboldt and Thomas Jefferson were mutual admirers. In 1804 Humboldt traveled to Washington to meet Jefferson, much to their mutual delight, with President Jefferson taking the opportunity to consult with Humboldt regarding America’s natural borders and to solicit his advice on the Louisiana territory.
There are more species of animals and plants named for Humboldt than for any other person. Among them are the Humboldt squid, the Humboldt penguin, the Humboldt hummingbird, the Humboldt skunk, the Humboldt orchid—the list goes on and on.
When Humboldt died at age 89, his loss was grieved across the world. In the United States, hundreds of thousands of people turned out for memorial services in his honor.
Alexander Von Humboldt died in Berlin on May 6, 1859, one hundred sixty-three years ago today.
The portrait is by Charles Willson Peale from 1805, when Humboldt was 35 years old. He sat for the portrait in 1804, during his visit to meet Thomas Jefferson. Humboldt helped revived Peale’s flagging career, and he was one of many American artists and writers inspired and encouraged by Humboldt (including, among many others, Thoreau, Poe, and the landscape painter Frederick Edwin Church).
