Special Report

Alexander von Humboldt

Between the 1820s and 1850s Alexander von Humboldt was one of the most widely admired public figures in the world. In the U.S., the name of this international renowned scholar has vanished from the national memory, his ideas have not.

Highlights

In the U.S., although Humboldt’s name has vanished, his ideas have not (above: <em>Humboldt in His Library</em> (detail) by Eduard Hildebrandt, 1856).

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Who Was Alexander von Humboldt?

This marks the first time the fossil has been back in America since 1847, when it made its way through Europe and ultimately ended up at The Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt in Germany.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

This Mastodon Is a Centerpiece of an Art Exhibition. Why?

Scientific illustrations, Humboldt once wrote, should “speak to the senses without fatiguing the mind.” His famous illustration of Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador shows plant species living at different elevations.

The Pioneering Maps of Alexander von Humboldt

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Story of Charles Willson Peale’s Massive Mastodon

Smithsonian Magazine

This is the first chick fostered by same-sex penguin parents at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

Meet Elmer and Lima, a Same-Sex Penguin Couple Fostering a Chick at a Syracuse Zoo

Margaret Osborne

The Humboldt Forum opened in the heart of Berlin on July 20.

Why Germany's Newly Opened Humboldt Forum Is So Controversial

Smithsonian Voices

Before There Was Beyoncé, There Was Humboldt

Designing Humboldt: Five Questions With Karen Siatras

A Brush With Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and Frederic Church