ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE NATURAL HERITAGE OF THE ORENBURG REGION

THE CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE NATURAL HERITAGE OF THE ORENBURG REGION BY ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT

O.A. Grosheva

Federal State state-financed organization Sciences
Institute of the Steppe of the Ural Branch Russian Academy sciences
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The article discusses studies of natural heritage Orenburg region A famous German scientist of the 19th century, traveler and geographer, author of more than 600 scientific works on geography, geology, meteorology, botany, ethnography and other sciences, A. Humboldt.

In article researches of natural heritage of the Orenburg edge of the XIX century known the German scientist, the traveler and the geographer, the author more than 600 scientific works on geography, geology, meteorology, botanists, to ethnography and other sciences A.Humboldt are considered.

The name “Orenburg Territory” was officially adopted in Russia in 1796-1881, when the edge was the name given to the outlying territories of the empire, consisting of several provinces or regions under common control. The term "region" was synonymous with a large administrative-territorial unit - the general government. In natural terms, the Orenburg region included the Northern Caspian region, Trans-Volga region, Southern Urals, Turgai, Aral region, Ustyurt and Mangyshlak. The Orenburg province, established on March 15, 1744, included the lands of modern Northern and Western Kazakhstan, Bashkiria, Chelyabinsk region, part of Tatarstan, Kurgan, Samara, Perm, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk and Orenburg regions. In 1758, after China defeated the Dzungar state in Central Asia, the Kazakh Middle Zhuz joined Russia and the area of the Orenburg province increased from 1.5 to 2 million km 2. Subsequently, the boundaries of the province constantly changed. In 1808, the Inner (Bukeevskaya) Horde, located in the territory between the Volga and the Urals, became part of the Orenburg General Government, and in 1822 the lands of the Middle Zhuz and northwestern Kazakhstan were separated from the region.

An important milestone in the study of the Orenburg region in early XIX V. began the research of the German scientist Alexander Humboldt, carried out by him in 1829 during a trip to Russia, undertaken at the invitation of Nicholas I “in the interests of science and the country.” Humboldt was accompanied on the expedition by the biologist Gottfried Ehrenberg and the mineralogist Gustav Rose, the latter of whom was entrusted with compiling a report and description of the expedition.

Having left on March 31 (April 12), travelers passed through the Baltic states, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, June 3 (15) arrived in Yekaterinburg. In the Northern and Middle Urals, Humboldt studied geological structure mountainous country, patterns in the distribution of minerals, the location of the mining and metallurgical industries, as well as the geomorphological features of the Urals. Factories, gold and platinum mines, copper mines, and quarries were inspected. Humboldt visited the Shabrovsky salt placers, the Berezovsky, Verkhnee-Isetsky, Bogoslovsky, Verkhneye-Nevyansky, Kuvshinsky plants, the Gornoshitsky marble plant, the Nikolaevsky and Zhelezinsky gold placers, and the Gumeshchevsky mine. Scientists and engineers of the Russian Mining Department provided the traveler with the most favorable conditions for research work, providing the opportunity to collect minerals and rocks from various mines and placers, which were later transported to St. Petersburg and Berlin.

Research in the Southern Urals was interrupted on July 6 (18) in connection with a trip to Altai, during which barometric observations were carried out, rare, hitherto unknown species were discovered in the flora and fauna of the steppes, and the richest zoological and botanical collections were collected. Upon arrival on August 22 (September 3) in Miass, the travelers continued to study the Urals: gold-bearing sands in Miass, industrial plants in Zlatoust, etc. were examined. Humboldt met with E.K. Hoffman and G.P. Helmersen, who conducted a geological study of the Urals by region. At the request of the German scientist, they accompanied him on trips around the Southern Urals.

From Miass, Humboldt went to Orsk, and from there on September 8 (20), travelers arrived in Orenburg, which was one of the most important centers of caravan trade. Humboldt became interested in the goods coming here from various Asian countries and the ways in which they were sent. Travelers went to Iletskaya Zashchita, in the vicinity of which salt mining was carried out.

In Orenburg, Humboldt meets the chairman of the border commission, General G.F. Gens, who traveled across the Kyrgyz steppes. The materials collected by Gens about the relief and hydrography of the region between the Urals and Altai were provided to Humboldt, who used them in his scientific research Central Asia. The German naturalist meets Grigory Karelin, who traveled in 1827-1829. in the western part of modern Kazakhstan and had materials - geographical, ethnographic, botanical, entomological, with which Humboldt carefully familiarized himself. In the future, G. Karelin will become the first and direct successor of Humboldt’s geographical plans in Central and Central Asia.

On September 14 (26), the expedition headed to Uralsk. The further route of the travelers went to Buzuluk, Samara, Syzran, Volsk, Saratov and on September 30 (October 12) they arrived in Astrakhan. Humboldt wrote to the Prussian ambassador in St. Petersburg: “Almost never during my restless life have I been able to collect in a short time (6 months), albeit over a vast space, such a mass of observations and ideas... Like pleasant memories, I must still name horse racing and the Kyrgyz musical festival in the steppe near Orenburg." From Astrakhan, travelers made a trip along the Caspian Sea and on November 13, 1829 returned to St. Petersburg.

The scientific results of the trip were widely presented by Humboldt, Rose and Ehrenberg in reports, articles and monographs. The most significant of them is the three-volume work of A. Humboldt “Central Asia” (1843), the first two volumes of which are devoted to issues of general geography and special orography of Asia, the third volume - climatology. The collection of several thousand plants and large mineralogical material collected by travelers in the Urals, Western Siberia and Altai was also of significant scientific interest.

The most important result of Humboldt’s research, who noted that “The Urals are a real Eldorado,” is the scientist’s prediction of the development of diamonds here. Using the most accurate instruments for that time, specially made for this trip, A. Humboldt measured magnetic fields and air composition in various areas, including mountain mines and peaks. The scientist paid attention to the geological deposits of the Perm province, but did not have time to study them. Subsequently, in a letter to R. Murchison, he advises paying attention to these deposits.

Humboldt's travels across Russia, and in particular his exploration of the Orenburg region, played an important role for the scientific and social development of our country. Thanks to Humboldt, attention was paid to solving new issues - for example, environmental ones, about which the society of that time thought little; in particular, a wide discussion began on the problem of forest destruction in the mining regions of the Urals. Thus, the social weight of problems has increased physical geography.

The scientist, noting that “vast spaces Russian Empire, exceeding the visible part of the Moon, require joint efforts large number observers...", for the first time drew attention to the need for integration of Russian and foreign science.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Gomazkov O.A., Oeme P. The Great Fidget // Chemistry and Life - XXI Century. 2002. No. 7. pp. 44-48.

2. Esakov V.A. Alexander Humboldt in Russia. M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. 110 p.

3. Zabelin I.M. Return to Descendants: A Novel Study of the Life and Work of Alexander Humboldt. M.: Mysl, 1988. 331 p.

4. Correspondence of Alexander Humboldt with scientists and statesmen of Russia. Moscow: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962. 223 p.

5. Tsybulsky V.V. Scientific expeditions around Kazakhstan (A. Humboldt, P. Chikhachev, G. Shchurovsky). Alma-Ata: Kazakhstan, 1988. 184 p.

Biography

Friedrich-Heinrich-Alexander Humboldt was born on September 14, 1769 in Berlin. He spent his childhood with his older brother Wilhelm in Tegel. The conditions under which they grew up and were brought up could not be more favorable for development. Both boys were raised at home.

Science was difficult for Alexander. His memory was good, but he was not distinguished by his quick thinking and in this respect lagged far behind Wilhelm, who easily and quickly grasped every subject.

In 1783, the brothers, together with their teacher, moved to Berlin. It was necessary to expand their education, for which various scientists were invited. Private lectures and life in Berlin continued until 1787, when both brothers went to Frankfurt an der Oder to enter the university there. Wilhelm entered the law faculty, and Alexander entered the cameral faculty.

Alexander Humboldt remained at the University of Frankfurt for only a year. Then he spent about a year in Berlin studying technology, Greek language and botany. Alexander's studies were encyclopedic in nature. Classic literature, history, natural science, and mathematics interested him equally. Humboldt remained at the University of Göttingen until 1790. Then his independent studies began.

In March 1790, Alexander undertook a journey with Forster from Mainz along the Rhine to Holland, and from there to England and France. The desire to become better acquainted with geology and the glory of the Freiberg Academy attracted him to Freiberg, where he went in 1791. The famous Werner, head of the Neptunist school, read geology here.

After he left Freiberg, the academic years Humboldt, since his career began in 1792. At this time he was 23 years old. Alexander's abilities were now revealed in full brilliance. He had extensive and versatile knowledge, spoke several languages, published a number of independent studies on geology, botany and physiology, and was considering plans for future travel.

In the spring of 1792, Alexander Humboldt received a position as assessor of the mining department in Berlin, and in August he was appointed Oberbergmeister (head of mining) in Ansbach and Bayreuth, with a salary of 400 thalers. The activities associated with this position coincided well with the desires of Humboldt, who was deeply interested in mineralogy and geology. The constant travel required by his position was important as preparation for future travels.

Alexander Humboldt spent the winter of 1797-1798 in Salzburg, engaged in geological and meteorological research.

In 1799, Humboldt went on a long journey across South America and Mexico. Only on August 3, 1804, after almost five years in America, Humboldt landed in Bordeaux.

A. Humboldt decided to stay in Paris to study and publish the materials he collected. In 1805, Alexander Humboldt went to Italy to visit his brother. In 1806-1807 he lived in Berlin, and then asked Prussian king allow him to live in Paris and received permission. After that, he lived in France for almost twenty years (1809-1827), leaving it only occasionally and for short periods.

The stay in the “capital of the world” was devoted almost exclusively to work. Humboldt got up around 7 o'clock in the morning, at 8 went to his friend F. Arago or to the institute, where he worked until 11-12 o'clock, then had a quick breakfast and went back to work. At about seven in the evening the scientist had dinner, and after dinner he visited friends and salons. Only around midnight did he return home and again work until two, or even until half past three. Thus, 4-5 hours a day were left for sleep. “Periodic sleep is considered an outdated superstition in the Humboldt family,” he used to say jokingly. He led such an active lifestyle until his death and, most surprisingly, he always remained healthy and strong physically and mentally.

This period of his activity can be called a period of discoveries; the subsequent years of his life were devoted mainly to the continuation and development of previously done research.

Numerous and varied scientific works did not prevent Humboldt from being interested in politics, court news, and even, simply put, gossip and trivia, known as “news of the day.” In the salons, he shone not only with his scholarship, eloquence and wit, but also with his knowledge of all sorts of anecdotes and trifles that occupied society.

The Prussian king Frederick William III was personally disposed towards Humboldt, loved his conversation and valued his company. In 1826, he invited his learned friend to move to Berlin.

In the first year of his life in Berlin, he gave a series of public lectures “on the physical description of the world.” The lectures attracted many listeners. Not only did Berlin residents flock to them in droves, but also curious people came from other European cities to listen to Humboldt. The king and his family, the most important dignitaries, ladies of the court, professors and writers were present here, along with countless audiences from the most diverse walks of life.

The readings began on November 3, 1827 and ended on April 26, 1828. At the end of the lectures, a specially appointed committee presented Humboldt with a medal with the image of the sun and the inscription “Illuminating the whole world with bright rays.”

Russian Emperor Nicholas I invited the scientist to take a trip to the East “in the interest of science and the country.” Such a proposal could not have been more consistent with Humboldt’s wishes, and he, of course, accepted it, asking only for a year’s delay to complete some of the work begun and prepare for the trip.

On April 12, 1829, Alexander Humboldt left Berlin and arrived in St. Petersburg on May 1. From here the travelers went through Moscow and Vladimir to Nizhny Novgorod. From Nizhny, the scientist sailed along the Volga to Kazan, from there to Perm and Yekaterinburg. Here, in fact, the real journey began. For several weeks, travelers moved through the Lower and Middle Urals and explored its geology. Humboldt then went to Siberia.

The last destination of the trip was Astrakhan. Humboldt “did not want to die without seeing the Caspian Sea.”

From Astrakhan, the travelers made a short trip along the Caspian Sea, then went back to St. Petersburg, where they arrived on November 13, 1829.

Thanks to the conveniences enjoyed by the travelers and their scientific zeal, this expedition produced rich results. For two years the scientist processed the results of the expedition in Paris.

Since 1832, Alexander Humboldt lived mainly in Berlin, however, from time to time visiting the capital of the world and other European cities.

In 1842, he was appointed Chancellor of the Order pour Ie merite, established by Frederick II to reward military merit. Frederick William IV gave it a civilian class. The order was to be given to the greatest representatives of science, art and literature in Germany and Europe.

Alexander Humboldt received countless awards and honors from governments and scientific institutions. His name is immortalized on geographical maps, in textbooks of zoology and botany, etc. Many rivers and mountains bear his name.

It is hardly possible to name another scientist who enjoyed such popularity. He was like the sun of the scientific world, to which all major and minor scientists were drawn. They went to pay homage to him, like pious Catholics to the pope. We deliberately went to Berlin to see Alexander Humboldt - “to kiss the papal shoe.”

Among the public, his fame was supported by his publicly available writings. This aspect of his activity finally culminated in the long-planned “Cosmos”. “Cosmos” represents a body of knowledge of the first half of the 19th century and, most precious of all, a body compiled by a specialist, because Humboldt was a specialist in all fields, except perhaps higher mathematics. It's almost unbelievable, but it's true.

Unusual activity and mental stress seemed to weaken his physical and spiritual strength. But nature made an exception for him. IN last years In his life, approaching the age of ninety, he led the same active lifestyle as he had once done in Paris.

Main achievements

The largest work was extensive research with electricity on animals, undertaken by Humboldt after familiarizing him with Galvani's discovery. The result of these studies was the two-volume work “Experiments on Irritated Muscle and Nerve Fibers,” published only in 1797-1799. Some of these experiments were carried out by him on his own body with the assistance of Dr. Schallern: Humboldt’s back served as an object of study, wounds were specially made on it and then they were galvanized in various ways. Schallern observed the results, since Humboldt, of course, could only sense them.

The results of the trip to South America and Mexico were impressive. Before Humboldt, only one point inside South America - Quito - was precisely determined astronomically; its geological structure was completely unknown. Alexander Humboldt determined the latitude and longitude of many points, made about 700 hypsometric measurements (height measurements), that is, he created the geography and orography of the area, studied its geology, collected data on the country’s climate and understood its distinctive features. He also managed to collect huge botanical and zoological collections - about four thousand species of plants alone, including one thousand eight hundred new to science.

The connection of the Amazon and Orinoco systems was proven, maps of the flow of both rivers were corrected and expanded, the direction of some mountain ranges was determined and new, hitherto unknown ones were discovered, the distribution of mountains and lowlands was clarified, and the sea current along the western coast of America, called the Humboldtian current, was mapped. He did not ignore ethnography, archeology, history, languages, and the political state of countries: a wealth of material was collected on all these subjects, later developed partly by Humboldt himself and partly by his collaborators.

The publication of An American Journey required many years and the collaboration of many scholars. Humboldt himself took upon himself mainly the general conclusions, while his staff processed the factual material. The first volume was published in 1807, the last in 1833. The entire publication consists of 30 volumes and contains 1425 tables.

The works of Alexander Humboldt represent such an extensive encyclopedia of natural science, all of them are connected into one whole by the idea of a physical description of the world.

While still serving as chief bergmeister, Humboldt began research chemical composition air. Later they were continued together with Gay-Lussac and led to following results: the composition of the atmosphere generally remains constant, the amount of oxygen in the air is twenty-one percent, the air does not contain a noticeable admixture of hydrogen. This was the first accurate study of the atmosphere, and later his work confirmed these data in essential features.

Alexander Humboldt devoted a number of studies to air temperature. In order to discover the causes of temperature differences, it was necessary to have a picture of the distribution of heat on the globe and a method for further developing this picture. Humboldt accomplished this double task by establishing so-called isotherms - lines connecting places with the same average temperature over a known period of time. The work on isotherms served as the basis for comparative climatology, and Humboldt can be considered the creator of this most complex and difficult branch of natural science.

He made several important discoveries while conducting research on terrestrial magnetism. Alexander Humboldt was the first to actually prove that the intensity of the earth's magnetism varies at different latitudes, decreasing from the poles to the equator. He also belongs to the discovery of sudden disturbances of the magnetic needle (“magnetic storms”), which, as later studies showed, occur simultaneously in different parts of the globe under the influence of still unexplained reasons. Further, they discovered a secondary deviation of the magnetic needle during the day. The arrow does not remain stationary, but moves first in one direction, then in the opposite direction. Humboldt showed that this phenomenon repeats itself twice during the day. He also showed that the magnetic equator (the line connecting the points where the magnetic needle is horizontal) does not coincide with the astronomical one.

In a work undertaken with Biot, Alexander Humboldt tried to determine the magnetic equator, but a lack of data led the authors to assume a much greater correctness than actually exists.

At the beginning of the 19th century, geology was just beginning to emerge. Having been a supporter of Werner at the beginning of his career, Humboldt subsequently became one of the main drivers of the plutonic theory. Humboldt contributed to its triumph mainly through his research on volcanoes.

Printed works:

§ Mineralische Beobachtungen über einige Basalte am Rhein, Braunschweig, 1790 (German)

§ Humboldt A. von. Voyage aux regions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent, fait en 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804 par Alexander Humboldt et Aimé Bonpland / red. A. de Humboldt. - Grand edition. - Paris: F. Schoell, 1805 (French) (Reise in die Aequinoctial-Gegenden des neuen Continents. (Übers. Hermann Hauff). Die einzige von Humboldt autorisierte Übersetzung; bei J.G. Cotta, Stuttgart 1859 (German))

§ Humboldt A. von. Ideen zu einer Physiognomik der Gewächse. - Tübingen: J.G. Cotta, 1806 (German)

§ Humboldt A. von. Ideen zu einer Geographie der Pflanzen nebst einem Naturgemälde der der Tropenlländer, auf Beobachtungen und Messungen gegründet welche nom 10 ten Grade nördlicher bis zum 10 ten Grade südlicher Breite, in den Jahren 1799, 1800-1803 angestell t worden sind, von Al. von Humboldt und A. Bonpland. - Tübingen: F.G. Cotta; Paris: F. Schoell, 1807 (German)

§ Humboldt A. von. Ansichten der Natur mit wissenschaftlichen Erläuterungen. Bd 1. Über die Steppen und Wüsten. Ideen zu einer Physiognomik der Gewächse. Über Wasserfälle des Orinoco, bei Atures und Maypures. - Tübingen: J.G. Cotta, 1808 (German)

§ Humboldt A. von. De distributione geographica plantarum: secundum cœli temperiem et altitudinem montium, prolegomena. - Lutetiæ Parisiorum: Libraria Græco-Latino-Germanica, 1817 (lat.)

§ Humboldt A. von. Die lignes isothermes et de la distribution de la chaleur sur le globe // Mém. Physique et de Chimie de la Soc. d'Arcueil. 1817. T. 3. P. 462-602 (French)

§ Humboldt A.de. Sur les lois que l’on observe dans la distribution des formes végétales // Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles. Strasbourg ; Paris: F.G. Levrault, imprimeur du Roi, 1820. T. 18. P. 359-436 (French)

§ Humboldt A. von. About the physiognomy of plants / trans. with him. A. F. Sevastyanova. - St. Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1823

§ Deutsche Übersetzung: Kritische Untersuchungen über die historische Entwickelung der geographischen Kenntnisse von der Neuen Welt und die Fortschritte der nautischen Astronomie in dem 15ten und 16ten Jahrhundert. Aus dem Franz. Ubers. von Jul. Ludw. Ideler. Berlin, Nicolai, 1836 u. 1852. (German)

§ Zentralasien (zusammen mit Wilhelm Mahlmann) 2 Bde. Berlin, Klemann, 1844 (German)

§ Humboldt A. von. Kosmos - Entwurf einer physischen Welbeschreibung. - Stuttgart; Tübingen: G. Gottaschen. - Bd 1. - 1845; Bd 2. - 1847; Bd 3. - 1850; Bd 3 (Abt. 2). - 1851; Bd 4. - 1858; Bd 5. - 1862 (German)

§ Ludmilla Assing(Hrsg.): Briefe von Alexander von Humboldt an Varnhagen von Ense aus den Jahren 1827 bis 1858. Leipzig 1860 (German)

§ Humboldt A. von. Cosmos: Experience of physical world description / trans. with him. N. Frolova. - Ed. 2nd. - M.: Type. A. Seeds, 1862-1963. - Part 1. - 1862; part 2. - 1862; Part 3. - 1863

§ Ernst Werner Maria von Olfers(Hrsg.): Briefe Alexander v. Humboldt's an Ignaz v. Olfers, Generaldirektor der Kgl. Museen in Berlin. Nürnberg und Leipzig (German)

§ Humboldt A. Geography of plants / ed., with introduction. Art. and biogr. essay by E.V. Wulf, edited by. ed. N. I. Vavilova. - M.; L.: Selkhozgiz, 1936. - 228 p.

§ Humboldt A. Pictures of nature / trans. with him. T. I. Konshina, ed. S. V. Obrucheva. - - M.: Geographgiz, 1959

§ Humboldt A. Travel to the equinox regions of the New World in 1799-1804. - M.: Geographgiz. - T. 1: Tenerife Island and Eastern Venezuela. - 1963; T. 2: Sailing the Orinoco. - 1964; T. 3: Countries of Central and South America. Cuba Island. - 1969

§ Ilse Jahn, Fritz G. Lange(Hrsg.): Die Jugendbriefe Alexander von Humboldts. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1973 (German)

§ Kurt-R. Biermann(Hrsg.): Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt und Carl Friedrich Gauß. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1977 (German)

§ Kurt-R. Biermann(Hrsg.): Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt und Heinrich Christian Schumacher. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1979 (German)

§ Kurt-R. Biermann(Hrsg.): Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt und Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1982 (German)

§ Kurt-R. Biermann(Hrsg.): Alexander von Humboldt. Vier Jahrzehnte Wissenschaftsförderung. Briefe an das preußische Kultusministerium. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1985 (German)

§ Herbert Pieper(Hrsg.): Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt und C. G. Jacob Jacobi. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1987 (German)

§ Hanno Beck(Hrsg.): Studienausgabe. 7 Bände (erschienen in 10 Bänden). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1987-1997, ISBN 3-534-03100-8 (German)

Bd. 1: Schriften zur Geographie der Pflanzen. 1989, ISBN 3-534-03101-6

Bd. 2: Die Forschungsreise in die Tropen Amerikas. 3 Bände, ISBN 3-534-03102-4

Bd. 3: Cuba-Werk. 1992, ISBN 3-534-03103-2

Bd. 4: Mexico-Werk. 1991, ISBN 3-534-03104-0

Bd. 5: Ansichten der Natur. 1987, ISBN 3-534-03105-9

Bd. 6: Schriften zur Physischen Geographie. 1989, ISBN 3-534-03106-7

Bd. 7: Kosmos. 2 Bände, 1993, ISBN 3-534-03107-5

§ Ulrike Moheit(Hrsg.): Alexander von Humboldt. Briefe aus America. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1993 (German)

§ Hans-Joachim Felber(Hrsg.): Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt und Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1994 (German)

§ Ingo Schwarz, Klaus Wenig(Hrsg.): Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt und Emil du Bois-Reymond. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 1997 (German)

§ Ulrike Moheit(Hrsg.): Das Gute und Große wollen. Alexander v. Humboldts Amerikanische Briefe. Berlin 1999 (German)

§ Margot Faak(Hrsg.): Alexander von Humboldt. Reise durch Venezuela. Auswahl aus den amerikanischen Reisetagebüchern. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 2000 (German)

§ Margot Faak(Hrsg.): Alexander von Humboldt. Reise auf dem Río Magdalena, durch die Anden und Mexico. Aus seinen Reisetagebüchern. 2 Teile. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). 2. Auflage. Berlin 2003 (German)

§ Ingo Schwarz(Hrsg.): Alexander von Humboldt und die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika. Briefwechsel. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 2004 (German)

§ Ulrike Leitner(Hrsg.): Alexander von Humboldt. Von Mexico-Stadt nach Veracruz. Tagebuch. (Beiträge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung). Berlin 2005 (German)

§ Ingo Schwarz(Hrsg.): Briefe von Alexander von Humboldt an Christian Carl Josias Bunsen Neue Edition. Berlin 2006 (German)

§ Alejandro de Humboldt. Cartas americanas. ISBN 980-276-118-4, ISBN 980-276-119-2 (Spanish)

§ Alexander von Humboldt. Sitios de las Cordilleras. - Sevilla, 2008, ISBN 978-84-9862-068-9 (Spanish)

Contribution to environmental development

Humboldt based his botanical geography on the climatic principle. He pointed out the analogy between the gradual change in vegetation from the equator to the pole and from the foot of the mountains to the top. The scientist characterized the plant belts that alternate as one climbs to the top of a mountain or when moving from the equator to northern latitudes, and made the first attempt to divide the globe into botanical regions. Humboldt discovered relative changes in the composition of the flora, the predominance of certain plants in parallel with climatic conditions.

The principle established by Humboldt remains the guiding principle of this science, and although his writings are outdated, he will forever retain the glory of the founder of botanical geography.

This great traveler contributed to autecology by developing Theophrastus' ideas about life forms and about climatic zonation. Following Lamarck, although, apparently, without the influence of his ideas, Humboldt came to the concept of the biosphere. He wrote about the need to build complete picture peace. The process of understanding nature, in his opinion, can only be achieved by combining knowledge of all the phenomena and creatures that the surface of the Earth offers, since “in this grandiose sequence of causes and effects nothing can be considered in isolation.”

Conclusion

Alexander Humboldt lived a long and bright life, devoting himself entirely to science. He was a versatile person, oriented in many areas of science, such as geology, mineralogy, zoology, botany, physics, anatomy, etc.

The merits of this great figure can be listed endlessly; it is not for nothing that he was nicknamed “Aristotle of the nineteenth century.”

He made a colossal contribution to the development of such sciences as mineralogy, botany, and geology.

It was Humboldt who gave rise to botanical geography, contributed to the development of climatology, introduced the concepts of vertical and latitudinal zonation, and much more.

Bibliography

1. Basics general ecology. Mirkin B.M., Naumova L.G., 2003

2. Electronic journal about travel and adventures “Space of Travel”. Alexander Humboldt: http://ppjournal.ru

3. Great people: biographies and biographies. Humboldt Alexander von: http://www.biografguru.ru

4. Scientists, researchers, travelers, teachers. Biography of Alexander Humboldt: http://www.biogr.ru

Engelhardt M. A. Alexander Humboldt, his life, travels and scientific activity. Biogr. feature article. - St. Petersburg: Printing house of the Public Benefit Partnership, 1891

History and theoretical foundations of linguoculturology

At the beginning of the 19th century, the German scientists brothers Grimm, whose ideas were developed in Russia in the 70s of the 19th century, tried to solve the problem of the relationship between language, culture and ethnicity.

The problem of the relationship between language, culture, and ethnicity is not new. Back at the beginning of the 19th century. German scientists tried to solve them - the brothers Grimm, whose ideas found their development in Russia in the 60-70s of the 19th century. - in the works of F.I. Buslaeva, A.N. Afanasyeva, A.A. Potebni.

Language is the spirit of the people. (Humboldt)

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Austrian school "WORTER UND SACHEN" ("Words and Things") emerged, which directed the problem of "Language and Culture" along the path of a specific study of the constituent elements - the "bricks" of language and culture, demonstrating the importance of the cultural approach in many areas of linguistics, and above all - in vocabulary and etymology.

Culture shapes and organizes thought linguistic personality, forms both linguistic categories and concepts. The idea of learning culture through language is not new.

In linguistics at the end of the 20th century, it became possible to accept the following postulate: language is not only associated with culture, it grows from it and expresses it.

There are attempts to periodize and establish linguoculturology:

prerequisites for the formation of culture, the development of science (works of Humboldt and Potebnya)

establishment of linguoculturology as an independent field of research

appearance fundamental science linguoculturology.

W. Humboldt: date of life, his definition of the concept of “language”, his contribution to the development of linguistics

Wilhelm von Hummboldt (German) Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt; June 22, 1767 - April 8, 1835, Tegel Palace, Berlin) - German philologist, philosopher, linguist, statesman, diplomat.

According to W. Humboldt, language is the “national spirit”, it is the “very being” of the people. Culture reveals itself primarily in language. He is the true reality of culture, he is able to introduce a person into culture. Language is a culture’s fixed view of the universe and itself.

he was the founder of general linguistics and the developer theoretical foundations language analysis.V. von Humboldt was a very talented person who distinguished himself in many fields of science and politics. He was a major statesman in Prussia: he held ministerial and diplomatic posts, and played a significant role at the Congress of Vienna, which determined the structure of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon. He founded the University of Berlin, which today bears the names of him and his brother, A. von Humboldt, the famous naturalist and traveler. He is the author of many scientific works in philosophy, legal sciences, aesthetics, literary criticism and linguistics.

The scientist studied linguistics in the last decades of his life, after retiring from active government and diplomatic activities. A profound thinker and theorist, Humboldt was an outstanding polyglot: he knew Sanskrit, ancient Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Basque, Provençal, Hungarian, Czech, ancient Egyptian and late Egyptian-Coptic, as well as Chinese and Japanese. Humboldt was one of the first researchers to explore the indigenous languages of North and South America, the languages of Indonesia and Polynesia. Studying the language of the Spanish Basques, which is sharply different from the languages of the Indo-European family, Humboldt came to the idea that different languages- these are not just different shells of human consciousness, but different visions of the world. Even in his first work, “On the comparative study of languages in relation to different eras of their development,” the idea is strongly emphasized that a language, even at the initial stages of its existence, represents an integral and complete formation. “In order for a person to understand at least one single word, not simply as a mental impulse, but as an articulate sound denoting a concept, the entire language must be completely and in all its connections contained in it. There is nothing singular in language, each individual the element manifests itself as a part of the whole."

Humboldt(Humboldt) Alexander (09/14/1769, Berlin 05/06/1859, ibid.), German naturalist, geographer and traveler. Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences (1800), honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1818). Born into the family of a Saxon court elector. In 1787 92 he studied natural history, economic sciences, law and mining at the universities of Frankfurt an der Oder and Göttingen, at the Hamburg Trade Academy and the Freiberg Mining Academies. In 1790, together with G. Forster, who had a deep influence on him, he traveled through France, the Netherlands and England. First scientific work, written by Humboldt from the standpoint of the then dominant Neptunism, was dedicated to basalts (1790). In 1792 95 Humboldt served in the Prussian mining department. In 1793, his botanical and physiological study, The Underground Flora of Freyberg, was published, in which Humboldt summarized his observations about secretagogue plants. His experiments on the irritability of nerve and muscle fibers are described in a monograph of 1797.

In 1799-1804, Humboldt, together with the French botanist E. Bonpland, traveled through Central and South America. Returning to Europe with rich collections, he processed them in Paris for more than 20 years together with other prominent scientists. In 1807 34 the 30-volume Journey to the Equinox Regions of the New World in 1799 1804 was published. , most of which consists of descriptions of plants (16 volumes), astronomical, geodetic and cartographic materials, another part of zoology and comparative anatomy, a description of the journey, etc. Based on the materials of the expedition, Humboldt published a number of other works, including Pictures of Nature (1808).

In 1827 he moved from Paris to Berlin, where he served as chamberlain and advisor to the Prussian king. In 1829 he traveled across Russia to the Urals, Altai and the Caspian Sea. The nature of Asia was illuminated by him in his works Fragments on the Geology and Climatology of Asia (1831) and Central Asia (1843). Later Humboldt tried to generalize everything scientific knowledge about the nature of the Earth and the Universe in the monumental work Cosmos (1845 62, the 5th volume remained unfinished). This work of Humboldt is an outstanding work of advanced materialist natural philosophy of the first half of the 19th century V. Humboldt's works had a great influence on the development of natural science (C. Darwin, C. Lyell, N. A. Severtsov, K. F. Roulier, V. V. Dokuchaev, V. I. Vernadsky, etc.).

Based general principles and using the comparative method, Humboldt created physical geography, designed to clarify patterns on the earth's surface, in its solid, liquid and air shells. Humboldt's views served as the basis for general geoscience (general physical geography) and landscape science, as well as plant geography and climatology. Humboldt substantiated the idea of the natural zonal distribution of vegetation on the Earth's surface (latitudinal and vertical zonality), and developed the ecological direction in the geography of plants. In connection with the latter, he paid great attention study of climate and for the first time widely used average statistical indicators to characterize it, developed the method of isotherms and compiled a schematic map of their distribution for the Northern Hemisphere. Humboldt gave a detailed description of the continental and coastal climates, pointed out the reasons for their differences and the processes of formation.

Humboldt's range of scientific interests was so wide that his contemporaries called him the Aristotle of the 19th century. He was connected by friendship and scientific interests with J. W. Goethe, F. Schiller, P. Dallas, D. F. Arago, K. Gauss, L. Buch, in Russia with A. J. Kupfer, F. P. Ditke , N. I. Lobachevsky, D. M. Perevoshchikov, I. M. Simonov, V. Ya. Struve.

Humboldt was a champion of humanism and reason, opposed the inequality of races and peoples, and against wars of conquest. A number of geographical objects are named after Humboldt, including ridges in Central Asia (Ulan-Daban ridge) and North America, a mountain on the island. New Caledonia, glacier in northwest Greenland, river and several settlements in the USA, a number of plants, a mineral, as well as a crater on the Moon. The university in Berlin (GDR) is named after the brothers Alexander and Wilhelm Humboldt.

Quotes: 1. The very first and most important thing in life is to try to control yourself. 2. The morality of nations depends on respect for women. 3. Our happiness depends much more on how we meet the events of our lives than on the nature of the events themselves. 4. A truly serious desire for any goal is half the success in achieving it. 5. Freedom increases strength, and strength always leads to a certain generosity. 6. A person is a person only thanks to speech, but in order to come up with speech, he had to already be a person. 7. Every human individuality there is an idea rooted in the phenomenon. In some cases, this is so strikingly striking, as if the idea only then took the form of an individual in order to make its revelation in it. 8. That government is the best which makes itself unnecessary.

Achievements and contributions:

Professional, social position: Humboldt was a German linguist, diplomat and philosopher.
Main contributions (known for): Wilhelm von Humboldt made important contributions to the philosophy of language and the theory and practice of education. His work also spans the fields of literature, linguistics and anthropology. He was one of the founders of the University of Berlin.
Deposits: Humboldt was a German linguist, diplomat, philosopher and educational reformer.
He gained particular renown as a linguist whose work made important contributions to the philosophy of language and to the theory and practice of education.
He had a great influence on the development of comparative linguistics, and also made significant contributions to the philosophy of language. Humboldt developed the doctrine of language as an activity and continuous creative process. He was the first to state that the character and structure of language express inner life, the culture and knowledge of its speakers, and the languages themselves must differ from each other in the same way, and to the same extent, as those who use them.
He also suggested that people perceive the world through the prism of language.
In addition, Humboldt conducted an in-depth study of the Basque language and came to the conclusion that it is one of the most capacious and important languages. His philological works dedicated to ancient language Kawi on the Island of Java, published posthumously (1836-1840), became landmarks in the field of linguistics.
According to Humboldt, The World History is the result of the activity of a spiritual force that lies beyond knowledge, which cannot be understood from a causal point of view. This spiritual power manifests itself through Creative skills and personal efforts of individuals.
As Prussian Minister of Education (1809-1810), he completely reformed the system school education, mainly based on the ideas of Pestalozzi. At the same time, he sent Prussian teachers to Switzerland to study Pestalozzi's methods.
He was one of the founders of the Friedrich Wilhelm University (now Humboldt University or University of Berlin) in Berlin. Pedagogical ideas Humboldt had a great influence on European and American elementary education.
He also found time for literary work. In 1816 he published a translation of Aeschylus's Agamemnon, and in 1817 amendments and additions to the Mithridates Adelung, a famous collection of samples of various languages and dialects of the world.
His books also contain poetry, essays on aesthetic topics and other writings.
Main works: Ideas for the experience of determining the boundaries of activity (Ideen zu einem Versuch, die Grenzen der Wirksamkeit des Staats zu bestimmen) (1791), Spheres and responsibilities of government (1792), On thinking and speech (1795), Studies in the inhabitants of Spain using the Basque language ( 1821), On the difference in structure human languages and its influence on the spiritual development of mankind (1830-1835), On the influence of the different nature of languages on literature and spiritual development (1821).

Career and personal life:

Origin: Humboldt was born in Potsdam, Margraviate of Brandenburg, on June 22, 1767. His father was a baron and his mother was middle-class. Her ancestors included French Huguenots, Germans and Scots.
Education: He studied at various universities in Frankfurt, Jena, Berlin and Göttingen.
Influenced: Johann Pestalozzi
Main stages of professional activity: In Jena (1794-1797) he was a member of Friedrich Schiller's circle. After traveling through Spain and France, during which Humboldt became interested in philology, he was appointed Prussian Resident Minister in Rome (1802-1808).
As a result of his successes in the diplomatic field, Humboldt received the post of ambassador to Vienna in 1812. final stage fight against Napoleon.
At one time he was also a successful Prussian Minister of Education (1809-1810).
From 1810 to 1819, Humboldt served as minister in Vienna, London and Berlin. However, the reactionary policy of the Prussian government forced him to abandon political life. He resigned as a sign of protest against the prevailing spirit of reaction.
From that time on, he devoted himself exclusively to literature and scientific work.
He died in Tegel on April 8, 1835.
Main stages of personal life: He studied in Frankfurt, Jena, Berlin and Göttingen. Humboldt was greatly influenced during his studies pedagogical principles Johann Pestalozzi.
In June 1791 he married Caroline von Elisabeth von Holved and became the owner of Tegel Palace. Humboldt's wife was one of the most enlightened and intelligent women of her time and assisted her husband even in his scientific works.
His younger brother Alexander von Humboldt was an equally famous naturalist and scientist.
Wilhelm von Humboldt was a friend Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. At the same time, his most interesting works, besides those related to language, are his letters to Schiller, published in 1830.
Highlight: Under the influence of Romanticism, Humboldt became almost a mystic, emphasizing the supra-individual and historically determined nature of citizenship and viewing individual nationalities as part of the universal spiritual and divine life. His famous thesis “Language should be studied not as a product of activity (Ergon), but as an activity (Energeia)” is now one of the most frequently cited in linguistic literature.

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