Born in Berlin on the 14th of September 1769, Alexander von Humboldt is something of a global name. His namesake is found throughout nature, such as the Humboldt penguin, Humboldt’s lily, Humboldt’s hummingbird, Humboldt’s Glacier. Indeed, you can go all the way to Antarctica and encounter the Humboldt mountains, named for him.
Humboldt is also known for inventing isotherms (the lines we see on today’s weather maps), discovering the magnetic equator, and an immense documentation of South American wildlife; but perhaps most importantly seeing the world as a web of life that is infinitely connected. What is not talked about; however, is his relationships with other men.
Humboldt’s burning love
There is a tendency amongst academics to ‘pray the gay away’ by making excuses for notable figures’ same sex relationships, and Alexander von Humboldt is no exception. Indeed, Adolf Meyer-Abich’s book “Alexander von Humboldt” states that love and friendship are synonymous at the time of Humboldt, and if there are any romantic suggestions to be made of his ‘close friend’, it is of Humboldt’s affection for his friend’s wife.
Many of his personal ‘love’ letters have been destroyed, which is unsurprising given the laws on homosexuality at the time.
Discovering the love triangle: Reinhard von Haeften
Humboldt had many ‘close friends’ in his early years, such as Wilhelm Gabriel Wegener, a theology student who Humboldt expressed his “fervent love” for; Georg Förster, whom he explored Europe with, and a survey instructor named Karl Freisleben. The most concrete suggestion of a romantic relationship is in a letter addressed to Reinhard von Haeften. He spent two years travelling with Haeften, at his own expense, which didn’t quite end even when Haeften married his pregnant fiancée. Indeed, the three lived together for 6 months.
Exploring South America with Aimé Bonpland
The next 5 years of Humboldt’s life were spent with the French Botanist, Aimé Bonpland, exploring South America. They returned having documented a wealth of natural phenomena, including more than 60,000 plant species, measured what is now known as the Humboldt Current (though he objected to the name), and letter describing the ‘masculine beauty’ of South American men.
There is no specific reference to the exact nature of the pair’s relationship, though this trip was entirely self-funded and appears to hint at least the homosexual nature of the pair, if not toward each other. Their discoveries in this trip are said to have laid the foundation for modern biogeography and comparative climatology.
Hiding in plain sight: Johann Seifert
There were others later in life who Humboldt is reported to have had long term relationships with, the last of which was a servant in his house named Johanne Seifert. Upon his death in 1859, Humboldt left his entire estate to Seifert. At the time, passing off a lover as a servant was a common way to hide queer relationships. Humboldt’s name can be found pole-to-pole in every element of nature connected in the very way he saw nature, but his queerness is rarely discussed.
Today, though legal in many countries, Queer scientists are still likely to hide their identity in the workplace. It may not be right to ascribe a sexual nature to Humboldt’s relationships; however, there is clear indication for romantic relationships with other men.
What Humboldt’s ‘modern’ identity would have been (gay, bi, ace, pan etc.), it is clear that Humboldt was both a world-renowned naturalist as well as a piece of queer history. In talking about this, we help young queer scientists see themselves in research and make research itself more accessible.
There is an annual LGBT+ STEMinar in January 2022 in Glasgow. For more information click here.
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About the Author
Daniel Parkes is a Quaternary scientist at Royal Holloway, University of London studying abrupt climate change events in a warm period similar to the present day known as MIS 11c. About 400,000 years ago.
Dan uses information from marine and terrestrial sediment cores from across the North Atlantic Ocean to look at changes in the surface and deep ocean environment during this period in. Using this information, he hopes to understand the cause and structure of abrupt climate change events at a time where the Greenland ice sheet had lost its entire southern area, and where modern humans were not impacting the environment.
Well done!
Humboldt would not have identified as Queer so I don’t know why you have ascribed this word to him. He was just a homosexual. Not queer. Stop with ascribing this modern use of the word to describe someone for whom it would have had no relevance.
Agreed!