Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/353

* HUMBOLDT. 307 HUMBOLDT. The travelers explored the region for upward of a year, erossiiij; over to the upper waters oi the Orinoco, and estahli-liing the connection be- tween that stream and llie Lpper Amazon. The year 1801 was spent in explorations in Cuba, the basin of the Magdalcna River, and in the Andes of Quito, the famous ascent of Chimborazo, to an -illitude of about 10,000 feet, being accom- plished in June, 1802. The explorations were then extenJeil to Peru, where Iluniboklt devoted liimsclf largely to the electrical and astronomical studies favored by the climate, but also acquired a valuable knowledge ol the cindiona (quinine) ])lant and its culture. From Peru the two savants took ship for Me.vico, landing at Aca- pulco in February. 1803. There they traveled for a year. lluml)oldt paying special attention to the detcrminalion of positions on the map and to volcanic phenomena, and then returned to Eu- rope by way of Cuba and the L'niled States (where several weeks were spent), reaching Bor- deaux in August, 1804. Humboldt now went to Paris, and occupied himself with Bon[)land in the arrangement of their manuscripts and collections, a large part of which. however, had been lost by a shipwreck; at the same time he pursued continuous experi- ments in physical chemistry. Having visitecl liis lirother, then Prussian Ambassador at Rome, and returned to Berlin, he accompanied I'rince Ail- lielm of Prussia, in 1807. on a political mission to France, and obtained leave from the Govern- ment of his own country to remain thenceforth in Paris for the publication of the account of his travels. He enlisted the cooperation of Gay- Lussac, Cuvier. and many others of the most eminent French specialists of the day in the elaboration of his materials, and began in 1807 to publish the results in magnificent volumes (20 in folio and 10 in quarto, illustrated by 1425 copperplates). The title was Voyage aux rc- (lions equinoxiales du ouveaii Cmitinent fnit en J709-IS0.i pur Alexandre de Humboldt et Aim^ lionpland. The first 14 volimies were devoted to botanj', and were actually prepared mainly by C. S. Kunth ; vols. xv. and xrvi. were an 'atlas pittoresque;' vols, xvii., xviii., xlx., xxi., and xxii. were devoted to physical geography, geognosy, and astronomy; vol. xx. contained a ■geography of plants;' vols, xxiii. and xxiv. were zoiilogical ; vols. x,v. and xxvi. were de- voted to a sociological account of the coimtries of Spanish .iiierica ; and vols, xxviii., xxix.. and XXX. contained Humboldt's narrative of his jour- ney, which was left unlinished. The original of this work contains the Essai politique sur le roi/aume de la yourelle Expar/iie, the Essai poli- tique sur rile de Cuba, an<l the Yves des Cordil- hres. Among the minor works of the great mas- ter, the Ansichlcn dcr Satur (first edition, 1808) had an immediate and widespread wel- come. It was translated into almost every European language, and issued in English in both London and Philadelphia. The publication of the great Voyarie continued at irregular inter- vals until 1827, and the 'volumes or groups of volumes appeared under individual titles, by which they are more usually known. The bibli- ography of Bruhns's biography of Humboldt dis- entangles the confusion of titles and editions which resulted, and to that the curious reader is referred. After Humboldt's death an octavo edition of his principal works was published in Paris (18(>4-(ltj). The favor of Frederick William III. of Prussia, who had settled upon Humboldt a pension of 2500 thalers, and later of 5000, required him to make frequent journeys with that monarch, and at last he was summoned to reside at the Court. In 1827, then, he took up his permanent residence in Berlin, and with much discontent endeavored to carry on his investigations amid uncongenial surroundings. One of the Iwst re- sults of his work at this period was his success in establishing for the first time international co- operation in furtherance of scientific observations. In 1827-28 he gave a series of remarkable lec- tures on jdiysiography at Berlin, which formed the basis ;)f liis subsequent Kosiiios. In 182!t, under the patronage of the Russian Government, and acconi))anied by Klirenberg and Gustav Rose, he made a rapid journey as far east as the Yenisei, one of the most striking results of which was the discovery of diamonds and other precious stones in the Ural Jlountains, as Humboldt had predicted would be the case from his knowledge of their geology. Many geographical positions were astronomically determined, and erroneous views as to the physical geography of the north- ern interior of Russia were corrected. The record of this journey was first written by Humboldt as Fragments de gcologie et de climatologie asiatique (1831), and afterwards enlarged into Asie cen- irale, recherches sur les chaines de montaffnes et la climatologie comparfe (184.3). The subse(]uent years were spent in occasional diplomatic journeys and in the preparation of what he deemed the crowning monument of his in- tellectual life, his Kosuios, an encvclop;pdic ac- count and explanation of the physical universe. Four volumes were written and published in Ber- lin, in 1845. 1847, 1850, and 1858. They were translated as fast as issued into many languages, and created a profound impression. He kept health and vitality, and continued at work until the winter of 1858-59. when his strength declined. He died Jlay G, 1859. and was buried witii royal lionors at Tegel. After his death new editions of many of his works were issued, and several collections of his letters ap- peared. Humboldt's influence upon scientific thought has been vast and far-reaching. "With him," says Agassiz, "ends a great period in the history of .science: a period to whidi Cuvier. Laplace. -Vrago, Gay-Lussac, De CandoUe. and Robert Brown belonged." His grasp of the universe as a whole was no less remarkable than his faculty of observing and explaining single phenomena. His scenic descriptions are strilcingly picturesque. Humboldt has contribvited to nearly every branch of .science, either by direct investigation or by the accumulation of valuable material. He may l)e regarded as the founder of the modern science of physical geography, and he placed meteorology upon a firm basis. We can only allude to his oliservations on the cultivation of the soil in dilTerent climates, and its effect upon civiliza- tion ; his study of the languages, the architecture, and the customs of the ancient peoples of South and Central .merica ; his discover*" of the de- crease in intensity of the earth's magnetic force from the poles to the equator: his fruitful labors in chemistry with Gay-Lussae: liis experiments concerning the respiration of fishes; and his con-