洪堡(1769～1859年)
Humboldt, (Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich) Alexander, (Baron) von
德国博物学家和探险家。1792年加入普鲁士政府的采矿部，发明一种安全灯，并为矿工们设立技术学校。1799年起到中美洲和南美洲探险，游历亚马逊丛林和安地斯山高地。旅程中他发现亚马逊河系与奥利诺科河系是相通的，并推测高山病起因於缺氧。他研究了南美洲西部海岸外的洋流，就是原先以其姓氏命名的洪堡洋流，现在称为秘鲁洋流。1804年回到欧洲。他的研究为比较气候学奠下基础，找出地区的地理情况同其动、植物的关系，并有助於对地壳发展的了解。在巴黎，他用自己的资产帮助阿加西等人发展事业。1829年到俄国和西伯利亚旅行，考察中亚地区的地理、地质和气候。1830年代曾对磁暴现象进行调查研究。他生命中的最後二十五年，主要从事《宇宙》一书的写作，叙述当时所知的宇宙结构。
English version：
1769～1859年
Humboldt, (Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich) Alexander, (Baron) von
German naturalist and explorer. In 1792 he joined the mining department of the Prussian government, where he invented a safety lamp and established a technical school for miners. From 1799 he explored Central and South America, traveling in the Amazon jungles and the Andean Highlands. During these journeys he discovered the connection between the Amazon and Orinoco river systems and surmised that altitude sickness was caused by lack of oxygen. He studied the oceanic current off the western coast of South America; it became known as the Humboldt current (now the Peru current). He returned to Europe in 1804. His research helped lay the foundation for comparative climatology, drew a connection between a region's geography and its flora and fauna, and added to an understanding of the development of the earth's crust. In Paris he used his financial resources to help Louis Agassiz and others launch careers. In 1829 he traveled to Russia and Siberia and made geographical, geological, and meteorological observations of Central Asia. During the 1830s he investigated magnetic storms. The last 25 years of his life were spent writing Kosmos, an account of the structure of the universe as then known.