HUMBOLDT, FRIEDRICH HEINRICH ALEXANDER von. — Naturalist and geographer, born in Berlin on 14 Sept. 1769, died there on 6 May 1859. The knowledge acquired through his long travels in Central America and Central Asia enabled him to give notable impetus to the progress of various branches of the natural sciences, biogeography, physical geography, and economics. Author of *Cosmos*, a physical description of the universe with historical and bibliographical notes, etc. Together with K. Ritter, H. is considered the founder of modern geography. Although some biographers have claimed he nurtured religious doubts, he seems to have held a clear belief in God, especially in the final years of his life.
BIBL.: C. L. Kneller, *Il cristianesimo e i naturalisti moderni*, Brescia 1906, p. 302; G. Caraci, s. V. in *Encicli. Ital.*, XVIII, pp. 593–94; A. A. Michieli, *A. H. e i suoi viaggi*, Torino 1930, p. 295.