Alexander von Humboldt | Biography, Discoveries, & Facts

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border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt">Alexander von Humboldt</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref3366"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt#ref3366">Early life</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref3367"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt#ref3367">Expedition to South America</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref3368"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt/Professional-life-in-Paris">Professional life in Paris</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref3369"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt/Professional-life-in-Paris#ref3369">Later years</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Alexander-von-Humboldt">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0980-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Nature - Humboldt’s legacy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.goethe.de/ins/ca/en/kul/loe/mag/21462442.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Goethe-Institut Canada - Ten facts about Alexander von Humboldt</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2012/novemberdecember/feature/humboldt-in-the-new-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">National Endowment for the Humanities - Humboldt in the New World</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/alexander-humboldt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Alexander von Humboldt</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/alexander-von-humboldt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Linda Hall Library - Alexander von Humboldt</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.famousscientists.org/alexander-von-humboldt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Famous Scientists - Biography of Alexander Von Humboldt</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajplung.00404.2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">American Physiological Society - Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859): early high-altitude explorer and renowned plant naturalist</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.academia.edu/72838890/Alexander_von_Humboldt" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Academia - Alexander von Humboldt</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7051820/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Alexander von Humboldt’s contribution to the biomedical sciences and scientific illustration. In honor of his 250th anniversarys</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://static-prod.lib.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/thematic-maps/humboldt/humboldt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Princeton University Library - Alexander von Humboldt, 1769–1859</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.si.edu/support/impact/humboldt" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Smithsonian - Alexander Von Humboldt's Influence on America</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Official Site of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Alexander-von-Humboldt/274984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexander von Humboldt - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 d-none mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10 px-sm-5 px-md-10 js-header-ai-ask-button"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander, Freiherr baron von Humboldt</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Charlotte-L-Kellner/1552" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Charlotte L. Kellner</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Former Lecturer in Physics, Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. Author of <i>Alexander von Humboldt.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Charlotte L. Kellner</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-21T00:00:00CST" >Feb 21, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>In full: </dt> <dd>Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander, Freiherr (baron) von Humboldt</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>September 14, 1769, <a href="/place/Berlin">Berlin</a>, <a href="/place/Prussia">Prussia</a> [now in Germany]</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>May 6, 1859, <a href="/place/Berlin">Berlin</a> (aged 89)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Awards And Honors: </dt> <dd><a href="/science/Copley-Medal">Copley Medal (1852)</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Works: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Kosmos-by-Humboldt">“Kosmos”</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Subjects Of Study: </dt> <dd><a href="/science/geomagnetic-storm">geomagnetic storm</a></dd> <dd><a href="/science/volcanism">volcanism</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajplung.00404.2020" target="_blank">American Physiological Society - Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859): early high-altitude explorer and renowned plant naturalist</a> (Feb. 21, 2025)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Alexander-von-Humboldt"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref262802"></span>Alexander von Humboldt</strong> (born September 14, 1769, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Berlin" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Berlin</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Prussia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Prussia</a> [now in Germany]—died May 6, 1859, Berlin) was a German naturalist and explorer who was a major figure in the classical period of physical <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/geography" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">geography</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biogeography" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">biogeography</a>—areas of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/science" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">science</a> now included in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Earth-sciences" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Earth sciences</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ecology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ecology</a>. With his book <em>Kosmos</em> he made a valuable contribution to the popularization of science. The Humboldt Current off the west coast of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/South-America" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">South America</a> was named after him.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref3366"> <h2 class="h1">Early life</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Humboldt-county-Nevada" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Humboldt</a> was the son of an officer in the army of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-II-king-of-Prussia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Frederick the Great</a>. His mother belonged to a family of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Huguenot" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Huguenots</a> (French Protestants) who had left France after <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis XIV</a>’s revocation, in 1685, of religious liberty for Protestants. After his father’s death in 1779, he and his brother Wilhelm were raised by their mother, an unemotional woman of strict <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Calvinism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Calvinist</a> beliefs. They were privately educated; instruction in political history and economics was added to the usual courses in classics, languages, and mathematics, as their mother intended them to be qualified for high public positions. Alexander, a sickly child, at first was a poor student. He was restless, thought of joining the army, and followed his courses only under parental pressure. After <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="futile" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/futile" data-type="MW">futile</a> studies in economics at the University of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Frankfurt-an-der-Oder" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Frankfurt an der Oder</a> he spent a year in Berlin, where he obtained some training in engineering and suddenly became passionately interested in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/botany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">botany</a>. He began to collect <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/plant" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">plant</a> specimens in the surroundings of Berlin and learned to classify them. But the poor flora of the province of Brandenburg did not provide much stimulus for an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="ardent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ardent" data-type="MW">ardent</a> botanist, and Humboldt soon dreamed of journeys to more exotic lands.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A year spent at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Gottingen" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">University of Göttingen</a>, from 1789 to 1790, finally opened the world of science to him; he became particularly interested in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mineralogy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mineralogy</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/geology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">geology</a> and decided to obtain a thorough training in these subjects by joining the School of Mines in Freiberg, Saxony, the first such establishment. Although founded only in 1766, the school had already acquired an international reputation. There, buttressed by a prodigious memory and driven by an unending thirst for knowledge, he began to develop his enormous <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="capacity" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/capacity" data-type="EB">capacity</a> for work. After a morning spent underground in the mines, he attended classes for five or six hours in the afternoon and in the evening scoured the country for plants.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">He left Freiberg in 1792 after two years of intensive study but without taking a degree. A month later he obtained an appointment in the Mining Department of the Prussian government and departed for the remote Fichtel Mountains in the Margraviate of Ansbach-Bayreuth, which had only recently come into the possession of the Prussian kings. Here Humboldt came into his own; he traveled untiringly from one mine to the next, reorganizing the partly deserted and totally neglected pits, which produced mainly gold and copper. He supervised all mining activities, invented a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/safety-lamp" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">safety lamp</a>, and established, with his own funds, a technical school for young miners. Yet he did not intend to make mining his career.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref3367"> <h2 class="h1">Expedition to South America</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="conviction" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conviction" data-type="MW">conviction</a> had grown in Humboldt that his real aim in life was scientific exploration, and in 1797 he resigned from his post to acquire with great single-mindedness a thorough knowledge of the systems of geodetic, meteorological, and geomagnetic measurements. The political upheavals caused by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Napoleonic-Wars" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Napoleonic Wars</a> prevented the realization of several scientific expeditions in which Humboldt had been given an opportunity to participate. At last, dispirited by his disappointments but refusing to be deterred from his purpose, he obtained permission from the Spanish government to visit the Spanish colonies in Central and South America. These colonies were then accessible only to Spanish officials and the Roman Catholic mission. Completely shut off from the outside world, they offered enormous possibilities to a scientific explorer. Humboldt’s social standing assured him of access to official circles, and in the Spanish <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/prime-minister" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">prime minister</a> <span id="ref262803"></span>Mariano de Urquijo he found an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="enlightened" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enlightened" data-type="MW">enlightened</a> man who supported his application to the king for a royal permit. In the summer of 1799 he set sail from Marseille accompanied by the French botanist <span id="ref262804"></span>Aimé Bonpland, whom he had met in Paris, then the liveliest scientific centre in Europe. The estate he had inherited at the death of his mother enabled Humboldt to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/finance" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">finance</a> the expedition entirely out of his own pocket. Humboldt and Bonpland spent five years, from 1799 to 1804, in Central and South America, covering more than 6,000 miles (9,650 km) on foot, on horseback, and in canoes. It was a life of great physical exertion and serious <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="deprivation" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/deprivation" data-type="EB">deprivation</a>.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/faces-of-science" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/144788-131-ADACA20E/Michael-Faraday-John-Frederic-Daniell.jpg" alt="Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Faces of Science</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Starting from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Caracas" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Caracas</a>, they traveled south through grasslands and scrublands until they reached the banks of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Apure-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Apure</a>, a tributary of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Orinoco-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Orinoco River</a>. They continued their journey on the river by canoe as far as the Orinoco. Following its course and that of the <span id="ref262805"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Casiquiare" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Casiquiare</a>, they proved that the Casiquiare River formed a connection between the vast river systems of the <span id="ref262806"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Amazon-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Amazon</a> and the <span id="ref262807"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Orinoco-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Orinoco</a>. For three months Humboldt and Bonpland moved through dense tropical forests, tormented by clouds of mosquitoes and stifled by the humid heat. Their provisions were soon destroyed by insects and rain; the lack of food finally drove them to subsist on ground-up wild cacao beans and river water. Yet both travelers, buoyed up by the excitement provided by the new and overwhelming impressions, remained healthy and in the best of spirits until their return to civilization, when they <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="succumbed" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/succumbed" data-type="MW">succumbed</a> to a severe bout of fever.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">After a short stay in Cuba, Humboldt and Bonpland returned to South America for an extensive exploration of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Andes-Mountains" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Andes</a>. From <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bogota" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Bogotá</a> to Trujillo, Peru, they wandered over the Andean Highlands—following a route now <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="traversed" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traversed" data-type="MW">traversed</a> by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pan-American-Highway" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Pan-American Highway</a>, in their time a series of steep, rocky, and often very narrow paths. They climbed a number of peaks, including all the volcanoes in the surroundings of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Quito" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Quito</a>, Ecuador; Humboldt’s ascent of <span id="ref262808"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chimborazo-mountain-Ecuador" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chimborazo</a> (20,702 feet [6,310 metres]) to a height of 19,286 feet (5,878 metres), but short of the summit, remained a world <span id="ref262809"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/mountaineering" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mountain-climbing</a> record for nearly 30 years. All these achievements were carried out without the help of modern mountaineering equipment, without ropes, crampons, or oxygen supplies; hence, Humboldt and Bonpland suffered badly from <span id="ref262810"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/altitude-sickness" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mountain sickness</a>. But Humboldt turned his discomfort to advantage: he became the first person to ascribe mountain sickness to lack of oxygen in the rarefied air of great heights. He also studied the oceanic current off the west coast of South America that was originally named after him but is now known as the <span id="ref262811"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Peru-Current" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Peru Current</a>. When the pair arrived, worn and footsore, in Quito, Humboldt, the experienced mountaineer and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="indefatigable" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indefatigable" data-type="MW">indefatigable</a> collector of scientific data, had no difficulty in assuming the role of courtier and man of the world when he was received by the viceroy and the leaders of Spanish society.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the spring of 1803, the two travelers sailed from Guayaquil to Acapulco, Mexico, where they spent the last year of their expedition in a close study of this most developed and highly civilized part of the Spanish colonies. After a short stay in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>, where Humboldt was received by U.S. Pres. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Jefferson" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Thomas Jefferson</a>, they sailed for France.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Humboldt and Bonpland returned with an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="immense" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/immense" data-type="EB">immense</a> amount of information. In addition to a vast collection of new plants, there were determinations of longitudes and latitudes, measurements of the components of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Earth’s</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/geomagnetic-field" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">geomagnetic field</a>, and daily observations of temperatures and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/atmospheric-pressure" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">barometric pressure</a>, as well as statistical data on the social and economic conditions of Mexico. Whenever Humboldt had found himself in a centre of commerce in America, he had sent off reports and duplicates of his collections to his brother, Wilhelm, who had become a noted philologist, and to French scientists; unfortunately, the continental blockade then enforced by British ships prevented the greater part of his mail from reaching its destination.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":2,"pageId":276083,"pageLength":1353,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Alexander von Humboldt | Biography, Discoveries, & Facts | Britannica