xlii 



the highest honour he had ever received. A letter from Dr. Pertz 

 the Librarian of the Royal Library at Berlin, to Sir Charles Lyell, 

 states, that the Medal was found after his death amongst the objects 

 which he wished to be for ever preserved in the family archives at 

 Tegel. The outer envelope of the box containing the medal bore this 

 inscription in his own handwriting : " Die wichtige beruhmte Cop- 

 leysche Preis-Medaille der koniglichen Societat (in meiner Familie 

 aufzubewahren in Tegel). Al. Humboldt. Sept. 1858." On the 

 exterior envelope he had written : " Das ehrenvollste, das ich besitze, 

 die beruhmte Copleysche Ehren-Medaille der koniglichen Societat 

 zu London von 1852 in familien Archiv zu Tegel aufzubewahren. 

 Al. Humboldt. 6 Marz, 1859." 



Looking for ward to the probable appearance of a complete biography 

 of this illustrious philosopher and traveller at no very distant period, 

 it is needless at the present time to enter more fully into the details 

 of his life and labours. 



KARL RITTER was born at Quedlinburg on the 7th of August, 

 1779. His education was completed in the University of Halle. 

 In 1798 he became tutor in the family of M. Bethmanu Hollweg, 

 and travelled with his pupils through a large portion of Europe. 

 He then went to Gottingen, in order to avail himself of the library 

 of that place in prosecuting his researches in ancient history. After 

 four years' assiduous labour, he succeeded Schlosser as Professor of 

 History at Frankfort ; he was then chosen Professor of Geography 

 in the Military School, and afterwards Professor of History in the 

 University of Berlin. 



He was a Knight of the Order Pour le Merite ; Member of the 

 Academy of Sciences of Berlin ; Foreign Associate of the French 

 Institute ; Foreign Member of the Academies of Sciences of Gottin- 

 gen, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, and Munich ; Honorary Member of 

 the Vienna Academy of Sciences, and of numerous other literary and 

 scientific societies. He was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal 

 Society in 1848. He died on the 28th of September, 1859. 



The most ^mportant of Ritter's works is the second edition of the 

 * Allgemeine vergleichende Geographie,' the first volume of which 

 appeared in 1822, and the twenty-third in 1859, accompanied by 

 an Atlas, on which Etzel, Grimm, Mahlmann and Kiepert have 



