Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was a German scientist who made substantial contributions to geography, geology, geophysics, and meteorology. For much of his life he was associated with the Prussian court, ultimately as a scientific adviser of its rulers.

Of German and French Huguenot parentage, Alexander von Humboldt was born in Berlin on Sept. 14, 1769. His father, an officer in the Prussian army, died early, and Alexander was educated by a private tutor with his brother, Wilhelm. The household was marred by the mother's "cold and aloof" temperament. Alexander never married but derived great happiness from friendships with colleagues and others and also from his brother's friendly household.

Humboldt studied at the universities of Frankfurt an der Oder and Göttingen from 1787 and later went to the School of Mines at Freiburg in Saxony. In 1792 he joined the mining department of the Prussian government, and promotion...