John Muir

John Muir is born in 1838 in Scotland in Dunbar to his strict and religious father Daniel and his mother Ann. Muir has seven siblings and has a scrappy childhood that is full of backbreaking work and strict religious education. In 1849, Daniel Muir takes his family to the United States in Wisconsin where they create the Fountain Lake Farm. Muir is forced to have orthodox beliefs and while he never loses his spirituality, he loses any orthodox Christian commitments. Muir goes to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when he is twenty-two years old and studies botany. He also takes a wide range of courses. He never graduates.

In 1864, Muir moves to Canada for a short period to collect plants and then takes a job at a sawmill in Ontario until 1865. After the Civil War, Muir becomes an engineer in Indianapolis and while he is effective at improving...