Simon Bólivar called him the true discoverer of America. And a French commemorative medal honors him with the appellation ‘Aristotle of the modern age’. Around 150 years ago, Alexander von Humboldt, then almost 90 years old, died in his home town Berlin.

Of all his expeditions around the world, his America expeditions in particular became the benchmark for the important scientific journeys of his day. Charles Darwin was one of his biggest admirers: “I am obsessed with exact figures” and “It is my nature to keep after the same subject until I have solved it.” No other words could better describe Humboldt’s methodology of meticulous documentation and comparison. His most famous exploratory trip was to South America.

Together with the French botanist Aimé Bonpland he conducted research for a period of 5 years in Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico and Cuba. There are statues of him in New York, Havana and Berlin. There are Humboldt schools throughout the world, for example in Lima, Caracas, Puebla (Mexico), Arcata (California) as well as in numerous cities in Germany. The university in Berlin carries his name as do – for the sake of ‘empirical’ appreciation – a moon crater, ocean currents, a mountain range, a glacier, a monkey, penguins and beetles, cacti, orchids and even a type of yeast.