Alexander von Humboldt - a metabiography
by Rupke, Nicolas A.
pub by - University of Chicago Press, Illinois, USA - 2008, - isbn 978-0-226-73149-0 - - LCCN = 2008001122 - - Contents p.5-6 - - illustrations p.7 - - Preface p.9-10 - - Chronology of Alexander Humboldts Life p.11-12 - - Introduction. the Several Lives of Alexander von Humboldt p. 13-27 - - Institutions and Political Parties p.219-223 - - A Note on Citation p.225 - - Printed Sources p.227-301 - - Index p.303-316 - total book length 316 p.
This is a metabiography. For the most part it is a listing and discussion on the various attempts to write biography on Humboldt and note how these biographies changed over time to describe Humboldt to the people of the times when they were written. For instance the biographies of Humboldt shortly after his death were much different from those written during the Nazi period, and those written by scholars in E. Germany after WWII were much different from those written in W. Germany during that same period.
Alexander von Humboldt was born in Berlin, Prussia on 14 September 1769. He died in Berlin 6 May 1859. He had a brother William who was born in Berlin in 1767. His father died when Alexander was 9 yeard old. Alexander von Humboldt was born the same year that both Napoleon and Wellington were born.
Humboldt was first educated at home, then at a Trade Academy, later graduated in record time from a Mining Academy after which he became a mining engineer and was very successful at upgrading the mines and started a school for mine workers. He was friends with the Jewish community and also with both Goethe and Schiller. He convinced the Spanish king to allow him to visit Spanish America and while there check the mines. Humboldt toured S. America up the Orinoco River then toured north western S. America climbing higher on a volcano there than any western person had climbed, (a record which lasted 30 years). He then toured Mexico for about a year, then Cuba and visited USA and became friends with President Thomas Jefferson. He returned back to France in late 1804. He spent much of the next 30 years writing his reports on the 5 years in the Americas. The first 20 years in Paris, then he returned to Berlin in mid 1827 when he served as chanceller to the king of Prussia, a position he held through the death of the king and years into the reign of the following king.
In Berlin Humboldt held well attended lectures on science for the general public. He held assemblys of scientists.
In 1928, at the age of 60 he was invited to study the mines in Russia by the Tsar. He traveled across Russia and Siberia to the Chinese border and past the Caspian Sea back to Moscow and then Prussia. He continued to write three and a half of his Cosmos series which he worked on until he died.
All this was set in the ferment of his time, and how his life was interpreted in various biographical writings over the following 150+ years.
This was a very interesting read. One learned a fair amount about Alexander von Humboldt, but one learned much more about Germany and the political and social situations during the various periods after Humboldt died.
~ 2019-03-20 ~

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