184 Humboldt, Alexander von Humboldt, Alexander von (1769–1859) scientist, author, and artist His contemporaries once described Baron Alexander von Humboldt as the “last universal scholar in the field of the natural sciences.” Naturalist, botanist, zoologist, author, cartographer, artist, and sociologist are just a few of the titles that Humboldt earned His influence resonates throughout the world, but, paradoxically, it is stronger throughout the Americas than in Germany, the country of his birth When Baron Alexander von Humboldt visited the United States for three weeks in 1804, just after the Lewis and Clark Expedition had departed to explore the American West, he was the guest of Thomas Jefferson Jefferson had a scholarly reputation in Europe, and von Humboldt had achieved a reputation as an explorer, scientist, and cartographer The two men became close friends Margaret Bayard Smith, wife of the founder of the Washington Intelligencer newspaper, described one of these visits in her diary Alexander von Humboldt’s legacy resonates today as one of the most important achievements in naturalism and science Mrs Smith recorded one of Humboldt’s twilight encounters with President Jefferson in 1804 when the President’s aide ushered him into the drawing room without announcing him Von Humboldt found Jefferson sitting on the floor in the middle of half a dozen of his grandchildren All were so busy playing that for some minutes they did not realize that another person had entered the room Finally Jefferson stood up, shook hands with his visitor, and said, “You have found me playing the fool, Baron, but I am sure to you I need make no apology.” Jefferson felt unapologetic enough to romp with his grandchildren in the presence of Humboldt, who like himself, had achieved self-taught proficiency in many scientific fields Charles Darwin respected him enough to use his journals as a reference during his year-long voyage on the Beagle and described him as “the greatest scientific traveler who ever lived.” Humboldt’s journey began in Berlin, Prussia, where he was born on September 14, 1769 His father, an army officer, died nine years after his birth, and his mother raised Alexander and his older brother, Wilhelm She hired tutors to provide early education grounded in languages and mathematics for the two boys When he grew older, Alexander studied at the Freiberg Academy of Mines under the noted geologist A G Werner, and he also met George Forester, Captain James Cook’s scientific illustrator on his second voyage, and they hiked around Europe In 1792, when he turned 22, Humboldt took a job as a government mines inspector in Franconia, Prussia Five years later Alexander’s mother died, and he inherited a substantial estate In 1798 Alexander left government service and began to plan a travel itinerary with his friend Aimé-JacquesAlexandre Goujoud Bonpland, a French medical doctor and botanist They went to Madrid, where King Charles II granted them special permission and passports to explore South America Between 1799 and 1805 Humboldt and Bonpland explored the coasts of Venezuela, the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers, much of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico Much like their American counterparts Lewis and Clark, they collected plant, animal, and mineral samples, studied electricity and discovered the electric eel, extensively mapped northern South America, climbed mountains, observed astronomical events, and performed many scientific observations While he investigated the reasons for the dry interior of Peru, Humboldt discovered a cold ocean current that runs along much of the western coast of South America It is now known as the Humboldt Current