Used with
permission of Maiken Naylor, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA,
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/exhibits/stamps
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) explored many parts of the earth, including the Americas; the cold current off the west coast of South America bears his name. He was a geologist, naturalist and collector of specimens who wrote an encyclopedic work in geology and geography, Kosmos.