Among the leading natural scientists of the late 18th and early 19th century, Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt occupies one of the most prominent positions. He gained particular fame with the scientific findings he made on his numerous exploring expeditions, they revolutionized, among others, botany, climatology, archeology, ethnology and philology. In this context Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt, who taught at, among others, the Berlin Humboldt-University, which was founded by his brother Wilhelm von Humboldt, can truly be described as a polymath.
Born in Berlin on 14 September, 1769, Alexander von Humboldt at first completed studies of natural science and mining, which made for the basis of his career as an explorer. In 1799 Alexander von Humboldt left for his first expedition, together with the French botanist Aimé Bonpland (1773-1858) he traveled South America for five years. Back home Alexander von Humboldt moved to Paris, where he worked for years on his findings in the fields of botany, oceanography, geography and geology, as well as in archeology, linguistics and applied geography and ethnology, he put down all his findings in the monumental collection "Voyage aux régions équinoxiales du nouveau continent" between 1805 and 1834.
Another just as renowned travelogue, the "Journey to the Ural, the Altai and the Caspian Sea" (1837-1842) is the result of a second big expedition to Russia. Back in Berlin again, Alexander von Humboldt completed his scientific elaborations with the work "Cosmos".
With his life's achievements Alexander von Humboldt, who died in Berlin in 1859, is still regarded one of the world's greatest natural scientists.