Person
Humboldt, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von (1769 - 1859)
FRS
- Born
- 14 September 1769
Berlin, Germany - Died
- 6 May 1859
Berlin, Germany - Occupation
- Explorer
- Alternative Names
- von Humboldt, Alexander (Also known as)
Summary
Alexander von Humboldt was a renowned German explorer and prolific author. Initially his trips were confined to Europe, but in 1799 he set off for South and Central America where he made some of his most important finds. His discoveries were many and wide ranging and resulted in the creation and advancement of many scientific disciplines. Alexander von Humboldt discovered the fertilizing properties of guano (bat droppings), introduced the concept of isotherms in weather recording, and studied the origin and course of tropical storms as well as the Earth's magnetic fields and volcanoes. However he is probably most well known for his work on the relationship between plant distribution and geographical and environmental factors.
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Details
Chronology
- 1790
- Career position - Expedition to England
- 1792
- Career position - Expedition to Vienna
- 1792
- Career position - Assessor of Mines in Berlin
- 1795
- Career position - Geological and botanical survey of Switzerland and Italy
- 1797
- Career position - Expedition to Vienna
- 1799 - 1804
- Career position - Expedition to South and Central America
- 1800
- Career position - Explored the course of the Orinoco River
- 1805 - 1834
- Career position - Voyage de Humboldt et Bonpland published in 23 volumes
- 1808
- Life event - Migrated to France (Paris)
- 1815
- Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
- 1829
- Career position - Expedition to Russian Asia
- 1829
- Award - Councillor in Berlin title
Published resources
Book Sections
- McMullen, Gabrielle L., 'The Influence of Alexander von Humboldt in Australia' in Preserving the Humboldt Tradition of Scholarship in Australia: Proceedings of the Fourteenth Biennial Conference of the Australian Association of von Humboldt Fellows, Finlayson, Trevor R., ed. (Melbourne: Australian Association of von Humboldt Fellows, 2012), pp. 21-30. Details
Edited Books
- Finlayson, Trevor R. ed., Preserving the Humboldt Tradition of Scholarship in Australia: Proceedings of the Fourteenth Biennial Conference of the Australian Association of von Humboldt Fellows (Melbourne: Australian Association of von Humboldt Fellows, 2012), 92 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Daum, Andreas, 'Alexander von Humbolt, die Natur als "Kosmos" und die Suche nach Einheit: Zur Geschichte von Wissen und seine Wirkung als Raumgeschichte', Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte, 23 (2000), 243-268. Details
- Jeffries, Stephen, 'Alexander von Humboldt and Ferdinand von Mueller's Argument for the Scientific Botanic Garden', Historical Records of Australian Science, 11 (3) (1997), 301-310, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9971130301. Details
- Wiederkehr, K. H., 'Alexander von Humboldt und Georg von Neumayers geophysikalisches Projekt in Australien', Mitteilungen Arbeitskreis Geschichte der Geophysik in der Deutschen Geophysikalischen Gesellschaft, 7 (October) (1988), 1-24. Details
- Wiederkehr, K. H.; and Schroder, W., 'Georg von Neumayers geophysikalisches Projekt in Australien und Alexander von Humboldt', Gesnerus, 46 (1989), 83-115. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6694. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/95193235. Details
- 'Humboldt, Alexander von (1769-1859)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1204265. Details
Annette Alafaci
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 7 February 2011
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education