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Alexander
and Wilhelm Humboldt were Prussian noblemen and
Berlin natives in the early 19th |
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Century, who made their
names as world travelers, groundbreaking scholars
and leading humanists. |
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In 1799,
Alexander left his home of Berlin for a five-year
scientific expedition to South America. |
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By the time he returned,
he had transformed geography into a modern science,
pioneered new |
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approaches to botany and
geophysics, and become the most famous man in Europe
after Napoleon. |
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His brother
Wilhelm, a scholar and traveler in his own right,
built the cornerstone of his reputation |
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as a reformer in the wake
of Napoleon’s invasion of Prussia in 1806. A rugged
individualist, Wilhelm |
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argued for unpopular causes,
such as the equality of the Jews, and led sweeping
reforms of Prussia’s |
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outdated educational system
as an official in the Ministry of Education. His
ideals of humanistic |
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learning served as a foundation
for Berlin’s first university, today the Humboldt
University. |
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In a
city that has few figures from its past that it
can truly integrate with its present, the Humboldts |
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are making a huge comeback
in Berlin. The initiative to rebuild the Berlin
City Palace under the |
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banner of “The Humboldtforum”
is but one example. Alongside Albert Einstein, recently
honored |
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in Berlin with the Einstein
Year of 2005, Alexander and Wilhelm represent ideals
of tolerance, |
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individuality, ingenuity
and internationalism that are quickly becoming Berlin’s
most prized. |
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Alexander
v. Humboldt |
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Humboldt,
Alexander Freiherr von Naturforscher |
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by
Friedrich Georg Weitsch, 1806 |
und
Geograph, Berlin 14.9.1769 - ebd. 6.5.1859. |
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"Ein deutscher Buerger beider Welten" |
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Karikatur.Lithographie
nach Zeichnung |
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von
Herbert Koenig(1820-1876). |
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