Voting Station

Alexander von Humboldt

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Explorer

The Resume

    (September 14, 1769-May 6, 1859)
    Born in Berlin, Germany
    Explorer, geographer and naturalist
    Traveled extensively in Latin America (1799-1804)
    Published 30 volumes of scientific data from his journeys
    Tried to unify the branches of science in 'Kosmos' (5 volumes; 1845-62)
    Namesake for the Humboldt penguin, Humboldt squid, Humboldt Current in the Pacific Ocean, Humboldt Glacier in Greenland, Humboldt Bay in California, Humboldt Sink in Nevada, Humboldt Falls in New Zealand and Mare Humboldtianum on the Moon

Why he might be annoying:

    He lived off wealth inherited from his stepmother (who had inherited it from her first husband, a baron).
    While exploring the Orinoco River, his provisions were destroyed by insects and rain, forcing him to live on ground raw cacao beans and river water.
    To study electric eels, he had his assistants force 30 horses into a lake, trapping the horses to be shocked repeatedly until the eels had exhausted their charges and posed little risk to Humboldt handling them. In the chaos, two horses drowned.
    He destroyed his personal papers and correspondence, leaving his private life a mystery.

Why he might not be annoying:

    With botanist Aime Bonpland, he discovered 6,300 new species of plants and animals.
    He and Bonpland set a mountaineering record (that lasted 30 years) when they reached a height of 19,286 feet on Chimborazo in the Andes.
    During the ascent, he became the first scientist to suggest that the ill effects climbers felt at high altitudes were due to oxygen deprivation.
    His use of isotherms (lines connecting points with the same mean temperature) and isobars (lines connecting points with the same barometric pressure) on maps laid the foundations for climatology.
    He made the first accurate drawings of Inca ruins.
    He was the first scientist to note how organisms were distributed in ecosystems.
    His 'Political Economy of the Island of Cuba' was banned by the colonial authorities for advocating the abolition of slavery.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson called him 'one of the wonders of the world, like Aristotle, like Julius Caesar, who appear from time to time, as if to show the possibilities of the human mind.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 460 Votes: 49.57% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying