THE 



MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 



VOL. XXIIL JANUARY, 1837. No. 133. 



FREDERIC HENRY ALEXANDER, BARON VON 

 HUMBOLDT, 



ONE of the most distinguished natural philosophers of our age, was 

 born at Berlin, the 14th Sept. 1769. The excellent institutions of 

 education by which the Prussian capital was even thus early distin- 

 guished, and the easy circumstances of his family, afforded him every 

 kind of instruction in science as well as in languages; and to every 

 branch he applied himself with nearly equal zeal. He continued his 

 studies with unremitted perseverance at the universities of Gottingen 

 and Frankfort-on-the-Oder, and subsequently resided at Hambro', 

 where he acquired the principles of commerce in the commercial 

 academy of Bush. In 1790 he came to England in company with 

 the famous traveller George Forster, traversing in that journey the 

 countries along the Rhine and the Netherlands. Consulting his 

 inclination he went to Freyberg in Saxony, where he studied mine- 

 ralogy under the celebrated Werner, and at the same time made 

 great attainments in botany. The knowledge he had acquired in 

 mineralogy induced the king of Prussia in 1792 to appoint him a 

 member of the Department of the Mines ; and soon afterwards he 

 was sent to Barrenth as superintendent of the mines of that princi- 

 pality. It was about this time, or shortly afterwards, that, consider- 

 ing the easy circumstances in which he was placed by a considerable 

 fortune, and consulting only his inclination for scientific researches, 

 he conceived the plan of that long journey, which he afterwards 

 executed, and which has rendered his name so illustrious all over the 

 world. To prepare himself duly for that great undertaking, he 

 JAN. 1837. B 



