Alexander von Humboldt was one a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, and explorer. He would become one of the most influential men of the 19th century. Much of his work was based upon his travels around the world – including a five year trip to the America’s from 1799-1804. His work resulted in him being named the ‘Father of Ecology’ and the “Father of Environmentalism.”
Episodes
Alexander von Humboldt – Part 1
In this episode, we cover Humboldt’s early years, detailing how he grew into one of Europe’s most innovative scientists. We finish up with Humboldt setting off to South America on a voyage of discovery that will cover five years.
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Alexander von Humboldt – Part 2 – The Orinoco Expedition
Alexander von Humboldt arrives in South America, and conducts an expedition up the Orinoco River in search of the Casiquiare canal – which legend says connected the Orinoco and Amazon rivers. His experiences help him develop some of his most influential and revolutionary scientific theories.
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Alexander von Humboldt – Part 3 – The Andes Mountains
Alexander von Humboldt returns to South America, traveling into the jungles to the city of Bogota, and then over the Andes Mountains. Here he will do extensive studies on volcanoes, and crystallize ideas that will be critical to his idea of Naturgemälde.
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Alexander von Humboldt – Part 4 – Mexico and the United States
Humboldt does a deep dive into New Spain – aka Mexico – then visits Thomas Jefferson in the United States. We then cover Humboldt’s life upon his return to Europe – a span of 25 years.
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Alexander von Humboldt – Part 5 – Russia
In 1829, Humboldt heads off to Russia to investigate the Ural Mountains for the Czar. Humboldt would be severely restricted by the Russian government, but that would not stop him from venturing off the beaten track for 2,000 miles – even reaching China. It will be Humboldt’s last expedition.
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Alexander von Humboldt – Part 6 – Legacy
In the final episode in our series on Humboldt, we discuss the remainder of his life, including his epic Kosmos (aka Cosmos). We then talk about the enormous legacy of Humboldt.
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Frederic Edwin Church, The Heart of the Andes (1859)
Maps
Russian Expedition
Resources
There are many books on Alexander von Humboldt. I’ve listed a couple that I used extensively, but know that there were many others that I went through to make this series.
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World (2015), by Andrea Wulf. This is a modern biography of Humboldt, and the best available. It really works to demonstrate how Humboldt influenced so many other people, including Charles Darwin and John Muir.
Humboldt : the life and times of Alexander von Humboldt (1979), by Helmut De Terra. Standard, but interesting biography on Humboldt.
Personal narrative of travels to the equinoctial regions of America, during the years 1799–1804, by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland. This is the epic story – found in multiple volumes – of Humboldt’s trip to the Americas. The first half-dozen volumes are the critical ones – covering his time in South America. This was critical to putting together the story of Humboldt.
Views of nature, or, Contemplations on the sublime phenomena of creation : with scientific illustrations, by Alexander von Humboldt. This was Humboldt’s most accessible work – writing to appeal to all readers.
Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe, by Alexander von Humboldt. This five-part epic is Humboldt’s effort to describe the universe. There is even a Wikipedia page dedicated to the work.
Wikipedia page for Alexander von Humboldt.
Blog for Christopher Janousek – who has a nice page on Humboldt. I pulled a nice quote from Christopher’s page – which he was kind to let me use.
Map of Chimborazo.
Explorers Podcast 