Alexander Vonhumboldt

About

Considered the founder of modern geography, he published many influential works with solid grounding in science.

Before Fame

One of the his first trips was to South America, where he studied the local flora and fauna and climbed to the peak of Mt. Chimborazo, the part of earth's surface farthest from its core.

Trivia

He was the first person to propose that the earth's continents had been joined together at one point in time.

Family Life

His father, an army officer, died when Alexander was nine.

Associated With

A meeting with Captain James Cook's scientific illustrator had a profound influence on him when he was a child.