Alexander von Humboldt – adventurer and scientist

There was a time when adventurers did not venture to remote places of the globe and conquer high mountains and peaks only to get an adrenaline rush and test the limits of their capabilities, but were driven by their desire to discover the unknown. The principal figure among these adventurers who were at the same time brilliant scientist was undoubtedly the German scholar Alexander von Humboldt, whose name became a synonym for the true naturalist. Even though he is hardly ever mentioned today, in his time he enjoyed a superstar image similar to that of Albert Einstein in the twentieth century. At the peak of his popularity, according to testimonies, only Napoleon was more famous.

The life story of Alexander von Humboldt is interesting in itself. He and his brother Wilhelm, who was also a very successful scientist and a politician, grew up in a wealthy Berlin family. Their father was an officer in the Prussian Army and their mother was from a rich, noble family, so they were well provided for. After the early death of their father, their mother hired the best private tutors who made sure on daily basis that her sons received the best education possible at the time.

Their mother wished for her sons to pursue illustrious careers as statesmen, but her death in 1796 liberated the young men from the pressure of fulfilling her desires. Alexander who was the younger of the two was always impressed by travels to distant places, so he soon decided to join one of these expeditions himself. As he had inherited a fortune, he had no difficulties with gathering the means to pay for his journey. All that needed to be done was to organize the expedition, which, more than two centuries ago, was not an altogether easy task.


The shocking experiments of a mining inspector

To learn as much as possible about such expeditions he made the acquaintance of some of the scientists who had, among others, accompanied James Cook on his legendary voyages. He also traveled across Europe to meet a number of scholars and create important contacts which he later found to be helpful. He visited several renowned universities where he studied everything from economy and languages to astronomy, biology and geology with the most eminent professors of the time.

Although this might sound unusual today, at the time geology was the discipline in which groundbreaking discoveries were being made, leading to the most interesting scientific debates. Alexander finished his formal education at twenty three years of age at a mining academy and became a mining inspector. During the years of his work in the mines he introduced many improvements in the working conditions, especially in the area of safety, so he was very popular with the workers.

All along he was very interested in science and conducted some experiments himself. As a geologist he was fascinated by the Earth’s magnetic field and the similar phenomenon of “animal magnetism” which was being researched by other scientists, such as Luigi Galvani who studied the electricity of frog’s legs. Humboldt was so impressed with this new branch of science that he did not only conduct the electricity and magnetism experiments on rocks and frogs, but on his own body as well.

His hypothesis was that metal electrodes did not cause the contraction of muscles as an external source, but merely stimulated their inner properties. He first tested this hypothesis on plants and animals, then on himself as well. The descriptions of experiments which he published in 1977 in a notorious book were in places quite frightening. He used various electrodes which he attached to different positions on his back to trigger muscles and evaluate the intensity of the pain that spread across his back. One time, the back injuries he inflicted on himself were so severe that the attending doctor insisted on stopping the experiment, but Humboldt kept going on, driven by his passion for new experience and knowledge. His notes even contain some bizarre statements like: “The frogs on my back then started to hop.”

Despite his extensive experimentation he was very surprised by Alessandro Volta’s discovery that making a battery does not require the use of animal tissue. He felt disappointed because, despite all the extremely painful experiments he had endured, he was unable to reach this conclusion which quickly made Volta famous. It was at this time that he stopped working with electricity and decided to dedicate himself to botany.

The most important years of Alexander’s life came to pass during the transition into the nineteenth century. It was in the period between 1799 and 1804 that he and the French botanist Aimé Bonplandon traveled across a great part of then completely “wild” South America. Together they walked across the territories of today’s Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Cuba. They concluded their journey in Washington where they met up with Thomas Jefferson.

Conquering the supposedly highest mountain on earth

During his travels, Alexander continually sent letters to his friends and family, containing interesting accounts which were enthusiastically summarized by European newspapers, so that the public could keep up with his exploits with a couple of months’ delay. When he returned to Europe from his journeys, he brought more than 60.000 samples of plants and a number of animals that had until that time been unknown. However, his most celebrated feat was his ascent of the volcano Chimborazo, the stories of which dazzled the European public.

At the time it was believed that this South American volcano, which was called the Snow Mountain by the natives, was the highest mountain in the world. However, this ascent was not only another great adventure, it was also a serious scientific expedition. Humboldt’s monograph on the mountain which he published when he returned home set the foundations for many other similar scientific works that followed. In his book Humboldt gave a detailed description of the geography as well as of the plant and animal life on the mountain, focusing on how the change in the environment at different heights influenced the types of growth that could thrive there.

At the time it was still unclear if a human being could even survive venturing to such heights. Humboldt was in great physical shape and, being used to experimenting on his own body, was not afraid of the ascent. His reports of the ascent were actually what finally made him a real media celebrity. The readers were impressed with Alexander’s “mountaineering” as well as scientific achievements.

At the beginning the way up was easy, but gradually the terrain started to become more difficult. Unfortunately, not every member of the expedition had the proper equipment, with the help of which even people with no mountaineering experience can reach the summit today. From the description of the difficulties the adventurers experienced during the ascent it is evident that they were affected by altitude sickness and, in addition, lacked proper clothing that would protect them from the cold. Nonetheless, they continued to diligently measure the air pressure and temperature and carefully observe their surroundings all the way to the top. Despite all obstacles Humboldt was determined to persevere and rise as high as possible. At first, the fog prevented them from seeing the summit, but then the weather cleared up and their goal no longer seemed to be as far away as before. However, they came upon a hollow which, with their equipment, they were not able to cross.

The snow and ice-clad volcano was a tempting goal, but the combination of cold, snow, lack of oxygen and other completely objective obstacles prevented the scientific expedition from conquering what was believed to be the “top of the world”. Even though Humboldt, Bonpland and a local guide did not succeed in reaching the summit of the 6268 meters high mountain, the 5875 meters meant an altitude record, as until that time nobody before was recorded to have climbed higher. Another witness to the difficulty of the ascent is also the fact that the peak of Chimboraza was not conquered until 1880, almost a hundred years later.

After his return to Europe, Humboldt wrote down everything that he had discovered and learned during his five year journey. In the following twenty years he wrote a number of books and discussions which attracted many enthusiastic readers. One of the most famous admirers of Alexander von Humboldt was Charles Darwin. He actually took the accounts of Humboldt’s travels with him on his famous voyage on the board of the Beagle and used it as a sort of a guide through the poorly explored territories of South America. When he reached Brazil he made an entry in his diary: “I have always admired him; now I worship him.”