What is Alexander von Humboldt?
[[File:AvHumboldt.jpg|thumb|250px|Alexander von Humboldt, painting by [[Joseph Karl Stieler|Joseph Stieler]], 1843]] '''Alexander von Humboldt''' <ref>{{Audio|De-Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt.oga|Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt}}</ref> ([[Berlin]], 14 September 1769 – Berlin, 6 May 1859) was a [[Prussia]]n [[naturalist]] and explorer. Humboldt's work on [[botany|botanical]] [[geography]] was very important in the field of [[biogeography]]. == Life == Humboldt was born in [[Berlin]]. His father, Alexander Georg von Humboldt, was a [[major]] in the [[Prussia]]n Army. He married Maria Elizabeth von Colomb in 1766. The couple had two sons, the younger was Alexander. Alexander's elder brother was the Prussian [[minister]], [[philosopher]], and [[linguistics|linguist]] [[Wilhelm von Humboldt]]. In his childhood Humboldt already liked to collect plants, shells, and insects. Humboldt's father died very early (in 1779). From that time on his mother took care of his education. Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt travelled to [[Latin America]] and was the first scientist who wrote about it. He was one of the first who said that South America and Africa were once one [[continent]]. Late in his life he attempted to bring together different fields of science in his work ''Kosmos''. Honors and [[namesake]]s: Many places and [[species]] are named after him, as is the [[Humboldt Current]]. == Relevant pages == *[[List of science books#19th century]] == Other websites == * [http://www.avh.de/en/index.htm The website of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031202025506/http://www.avh.de/en/index.htm |date=2003-12-02 }} * {{gutenberg author| id=Alexander+von+Humboldt | name=Alexander von Humboldt}} * [https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3AAlexander%20Humboldt%20-contributor%3Agutenberg%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts Works by Alexander von Humboldt] at [[Internet Archive]] * [https://archive.org/details/AlexanderVonHumbo