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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XII, 2020

legislation instigated by Humboldt granting freedom to any enslaved person
who entered Prussian territory.
14
Humboldt was generous and helped young scientists whenever he could,
not only intellectually but also financially, even during difficult times for him.
In 1869, 10 years after his death, people in New York celebrated the centennial of

the birth of Alexander von Humboldt. In his day he was described as the most
15
famous man after Napoleon.
16
But nowadays his name is almost forgotten, at least in English-speaking
world. In Thailand we cannot even find his name in the lists of scientists in our
school books.

Why is Humboldt forgotten?

It might be the rise of Anglo-Saxon culture, as the super power of the
19 Century, that brought the world to focus on the English-speaking world of
th
science. The increasing specialization of science also pushed Humboldt into
the shadows (Sachs, Aaron, 2006: 236-242, 239). In Humboldt’s time science was
not yet so specialized. A scientist would understand science as a systematic
integration of knowledge. But after the time of Humboldt’s death, there was a
shift in the understanding of science. Specialization and classification were
seen as the future of science. Communication and the exchange of ideas across
major disciplines became the exception.

It was believed that only a deep understanding of a single scientific
discipline could reveal new insights. The integrated understanding of science
was therefore forgotten until recently.

One other reason is the shift in the understanding of education.
Humboldt’s ideals of education as a lifelong learning process or the cultivation
of the individual’s full personality, striving for the truth as the real meaning of life,
and inner perfection as its true end, have had to give way to the ideal of a utilitarian

14 Prussian Legislation of 9.03.1857.
15 See: New York Times, 15. September 1869, cited in Nichols, Sandra, 2006. Why was Humboldt
forgotten in the United States? In: Geographical Review, July 2006, 96, 3, Humboldt in the
Americas, 401.
16 Wulf, op. cit., p.3; See also Walls, Laura Dassow, 2009. The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von
Humboldt and the Shaping of America, 14f.

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