Alexander von Humboldt
Article
July 5, 2022
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (September 14, 1769 in Berlin; † May 6, 1859 there) was a German explorer whose field of activity extended far beyond Europe. In his complete works, which he created over a period of more than seven decades, he created "a new level of knowledge and reflection on knowledge of the world" and became a co-founder of geography as an empirical science. He was the younger brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt. Several years of research trips took Alexander von Humboldt to Latin America, the USA and Central Asia. He conducted scientific field studies in the fields of physics, geology, mineralogy, botany, vegetation geography, zoology, climatology, oceanography and astronomy. Further research concerned economic geography, ethnology, demography, physiology and chemistry. Alexander von Humboldt corresponded with numerous experts from various disciplines and thus created a scientific network of his own character. In Germany, Alexander von Humboldt achieved extraordinary popularity, above all with his works Views of Nature and Cosmos. Even during his lifetime, he enjoyed a high reputation at home and abroad and was regarded as "the greatest naturalist [of his] time". The Academy of Sciences in Berlin honored him as "the first scientific greatness of his age", whose world fame even surpassed that of Leibniz. The Paris Academy of Sciences gave him the nickname "The new Aristotle". The complexity of Humboldt's work and vita meant that after his death numerous social and political currents referred to him for their respective goals. Since the end of the 20th century - under the impression of comprehensive globalization - his work has been received as a pioneer of ecological thinking, for which the insight applied: "Everything is interaction".