Karl Ritter (1779-1859) was a German geographer of international fame and a founder of the modern school of German geography. His time is often called the "classical period" among geographers.

One of six children, Karl Ritter was born at Quedlinburg on Aug. 7, 1779, into the much-respected family of F. W. Ritter, a medical doctor. Two years later his father died. Young Karl entered a school in which the pupils were taken out to study nature. Apparently inspired by the theories of Jean Jacques Rousseau, this school left a permanent mark on Ritter, who retained an interest in new ideas on education, including those of Johann Pestalozzi.

Much of Ritter's writing was based on Pestalozzi's ideas of the three stages in teaching: the acquisition of the material, the general comparison of material, and the establishment of a general system. Ritter was largely concerned with comparison; some interesting general ideas emerged...