The Humboldt Library: Catalogue of the Library of Alexander von Humboldt by Henry Stevens

The books make the man

Authors are often defined by the books they write, but you can also learn a lot about a person from the books they read and own. That’s what’s so fascinating about legacy libraries—the book collections left behind by historical personages. The libraries of Thomas Jefferson and Charles Darwin, for example, are well documented. Prussian explorer, geographer, and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is another prominent and influential intellectual whose library could theoretically be recreated, thanks to the profit-driven opportunism of one Henry Stevens. When Humboldt died, he willed his library to his servant, who in turn sold the collection to Stevens, who then put it up for auction.* To facilitate sales, Stevens published a book in 1863 containing an extraordinarily detailed list of items for sale entitled The Humboldt Library: A Catalogue of the Library of Alexander von Humboldt. Obviously, this isn’t the kind of book you read from cover to cover, but I skimmed every page and found it very interesting and informative.

The list is almost 800 pages long and amounts to 11,164 enumerated items, each as large as a 150 volume set or as small as a single-page letter. Maps, prints, and manuscripts are also abundant. Many of the listings include annotations by Stevens that point out valuable details such as luxurious bindings, authors’ signatures, or Humboldt’s handwritten marginalia. While Stevens’s notes are in English, the titles of Humboldt’s books are presented in their original languages. Judging from the collection, it’s probably safe to say that Humboldt could read German, French, English, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, and possibly Russian. As a curious student of the world, however, he was interested in all world cultures, so one finds such volumes as an Albanian dictionary, the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit, the Koran in Arabic, a Grammar of the Persian Language, the Polyglotta Africana, the New Testament in the Language of Java, and volumes on Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Chinese writing system. While Humboldt is known for his expeditions to South America, Mexico, and Russia, he didn’t confine his interests to those areas. His library exhibits the true worldwide scope of his studies.

Many of the books are signed by their authors, often with cordial notes to Humboldt. Correspondence was a primary avenue of scholarly communication in the 18th and 19th centuries, and learned authors often exchanged books as a form of networking. Humboldt’s books indicate that he shared corresponding relationships with such luminaries as Charles Darwin, Louis Aggasiz, Charles Lyell, Auguste Comte, Michael Faraday, Victor Hugo, Carl Jung, and the Brothers Grimm. Almost all of the books Humboldt owned were published in the 19th century. The oldest volume I found is the epic poem The Araucan Conquest by Brazilian poet Pedro de Oña, from 1596.

One highlight of the Catalogue is a fascinating list of miscellaneous documents under the heading of Humboldtiana. This includes an extensive inventory of diplomas for honorary degrees, memberships, and knighthoods bestowed upon Humboldt by nations and organizations worldwide (see list below). The diversity of this list makes for a fun browse and illustrates how Humboldt’s intellectual endeavors spanned a staggering array of disciplines. The Humboldt Library catalogue is a book you really have to be a library nerd or an enthusiast of book history to enjoy, but if you are a Humboldt fan, you will learn a great deal about the man from browsing through his bookshelves.
* Reference: Von Hagen, V. W. (1950). Was this the fate of the library of Alexander von Humboldt? An inquiry, Isis (41)2, 164-167

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Alexander von Humboldt’s Honors and Distinctions 
This probably isn’t a complete list of Humboldt’s honors, but it includes all the ones I’m aware of. This list is compiled almost entirely from information in The Humboldt Library, with a few entries taken from other sources. For better or worse, I translated the organizational names for the convenience of English-language readers. I’m not very knowledgeable on 19th-century German political geography, so when in doubt about which kingdom, state, or duchy a city was located, I just use the word “Germany,” even though it’s anachronistic.

What’s interesting about this list is that it demonstrates the extent of Humboldt’s worldwide fame and also the wide range of disciplines in the sciences and humanities for which he is honored. It is also interesting to see the mix of major national institutions and minor local associations that granted him honorary membership. 

KNIGHTHOODS AND DECORATIONS

• Prussia: Order of the Red Eagle, 1817 
• Russia: Knight First Class of the Order of St. Anne, 1829 
• Russia: Knight of the Order of the Cross of St. Vladimir, 1st Class, 1830 
• France: Commander of the Legion of Honor, 1837
• Prussia: Grand Chancellor of the Peace Class of the Order of Merit for Sciences and Arts, 1842
• France: Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, 1843
• Sweden: Knight-Commander of the Order of the North Star, 1844 
• Norway: Knight of the Order of St. Olaf, 1847
• Sardinia: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 1850
• England: Copley Medal from the Royal Society, 1852
• Bavaria: Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art, 1853
• Russia: Knight of the Star of St. Alexander Nevsky, 1856
• Mexico: Knight Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Guadalupe, 1863 (posthumous)
• Bavaria: Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown, ?
• Denmark: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog, ?
• Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Order of the White Falcon, ?
• Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, ?
• Prussia: Order of the Black Eagle, ?
• Saxony: Civil Order of Saxony, ?
• Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, ?
• Spain: Order of the Rose, ?

HONORARY CITIZENSHIP

• Mexican Citizenship, 1827
• Mexico City: Citizenship of the State, 1827
• Prussia: Honorary Citizen of Berlin, 1856
• Mexican President Benito Juárez named him a Hero of the Nation, 1859 

HONORARY DEGREES

• Frankfurt-on-the-Weser University (location unknown, Germany), Doctor of Philosophy, 1805 
• University of Dorpat (Tartu, Estonia), Doctor of Medicine, 1827 
• University of Bonn (Prussia), Doctor of Medicine, 1828 
• University of Casan (Kazan, Russia), Honorary Degree of Membership, 1829 
• University of Moscow, Degree of Honorary Member, 1829 
• University of Tübingen (Germany), Doctor of Philosophy, 1845 
• University of Prague (Bohemia), Doctor of Philosophy, 1848 
• University of Prague (Bohemia), Doctor of Medicine, 1848 
• University of St. Andrews (Scotland), Doctor of Laws, 1853 
• University of Frankfurt on the Oder (Prussia), Doctor of Philosophy, 1855 

HONORARY MEMBERSHIP 

• Berlin Academy, Academician, 1800  
• Society of the Paris School of Medicine, Member, 1802 
• Royal Scientific Society of Göttingen (Hanover, Germany), Member of the Physical Class, 1803 
• American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia), Member (signed by Thomas Jefferson), 1804 
• National Institute (Paris), Class of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Corresponding Member, 1804 
• Geneva Society of Physical Sciences and Natural History, Honorary Member, 1805 
• Pontifical Academy of Arcadia (Rome), Member, given the name of “Megastene” (Megasthenes, an ancient Greek explorer and historian), this organization also granted Humboldt a parcel of “vacant Lands ‘Efesie’ from whence in future he is to be called ‘Megastene Efesio’,” 1805 
• Royal Academy of Sciences, Sweden, Academician, 1807 
• Royal Scientific Academy of Munich, Foreign Member, 1808 
• Physico-Medical Society of Erlangen (Prussia), Honorary Member, 1808 
• State Medical Society of Venice, Foreign Associate, 1808 
• Wetterau Society for Natural History (Hanau, Germany), Honorary Member, 1808 
• Phytographic Society of Gorenken (Germany?), Member, 1810 
• Royal Academy of Madrid, Member, 1811 
• Society of Friends of the Arts (Paris), Member of Committee of Arts, 1815 
• Antiquarian Society of Scotland, Honorary Member, 1815 
• Royal Society of London, Fellow, 1816 
• American Antiquarian Society, Member 1816 
• London Geographical Society, Foreign Member, 1817 
• Marburg Society for the Promotion of the Natural Sciences, Member, 1817 
• Swiss Society of Naturalists, Member, 1817 
• Royal Patriotic Society of Havana (Cuba), Member, 1817 
• Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg, Honorary Member, 1818 
• Dresden Mineralogical Society, Honorary Member, 1818 
• Royal Academy of Lucca (Tuscany), Corresponding Member, 1818 
• Pharmaceutical Society of St. Petersburg, Honorary Member, 1819 
• Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, Honorary Fellow, 1819 
• The Lower Rhein Society for Nature and Medicine (Bonn, Germany), Honorary Member, 1819 
• New York Historical Society, Honorary Member, 1820 
• Holland Society of Sciences (Haarlem, Netherlands), Honorary Member, 1820 
• Prussian Society for the Promotion of Commerce, Member, 1821 
• Society of Geography (Paris), Member, 1821 
• New York Literary and Philosophical Society, Honorary Member, 1822 
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow (signed by John Qunicy Adams), 1822 
• Paris Society of Natural History, Honorary Member, 1822 
• Roman Academy of Archeology, Corresponding Member, 1822 
• Royal Bourbon Academy of the Sciences (Naples, Italy), Foreign Corresponding Member in the Class of Natural Sciences, 1822 
• Prussian Society for the Promotion of Horticulture, Honorary Member, 1823 
• Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Natural Sciences, Naples, Foreign Corresponding Member, 1823 
• Linnean Society of Calvados (Caen, France), Corresponding Member, 1823 
• Royal Society of Literature (London), Honorary Member, 1824 
• Royal Asiatic Society (London), Foreign Member, 1824 
• Royal Academy of Medicine (Paris), Academician, 1825 
• Lower Bergische Naturalists Society (Frankfurt am Main), Corresponding Member, 1825 
• National Board of Charity and Patriotic Society for the Good Education of the Youth of the City of Los Angeles (Mexico), Honorary Member, 1826 
• Tuscan Society of Geography, Statistics, and Natural History, Corresponding Associate, 1827 
• Accademia Pontaniana (Naples, Italy), Honrary Member, 1827 
• Society of Geography (Paris), Honorary President of the Society, 1827 
• Medico-Botanical Society (London), Honorary Member, 1827 
• Horticultural Society (London), Fellow, 1827 
• Brandenburg Economic Society of Potsdam, Honorary Member, 1827 
• Imperial University of Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), Honorary Member, 1827 
• Lyceum of Natural History of New York, Honorary Member, 1827 
• Silesian Society for National Culture, Honorary Member, 1827 
• Royal Institute of the Low Countries (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Member, 1827 
• German Society for the Exploration of National Language and Antiquities, Honorary Member, 1827 
• Royal Botanical Society of Regensburg (Germany), Member, 1828 
• Bohemian Society of National Museums (Prague), Honorary Member, 1828  
• Pharmacists Association of Northern Germany (Salzuflen), Honorary Member, 1828 
• Society for the Promotion of the Natural Sciences (Freiburg, Germany), Honorary Member, 1828 
• Naturalist Society of Eastern Germany (Altenburg), Honorary Member, 1828 
• Thuringian-Saxonian Association for the Promotion of National Antiquities and the Preservation of Monuments (Halle, Germany), Honorary Member, 1828 
• Royal Philomathic Society of Warsaw, Member, 1829 
• Prussian Academy of the Arts (Berlin), Honorary Member and Assessor, 1829 
• St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society, Member, 1829 
• Free Economical Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture and Husbandry (St. Petersburg, Russia), Fellow, 1829 
• St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Academician, 1829 
• Moscow Imperial Society of Natural Sciences, Member, 1829 
• Learned Society at the Gymnasium of Prince Bezborodko (Russia), Honorary Member, 1829 
• Royal Geographical Society (London), Foreign Honorary Member, 1829 
• Royal Academy of Art (Berlin), Honorary Member, 1830 
• Imperial and Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts of Padua (Italy), Foreign Member, 1830 
• French Society of Universal Statistics, Member, 1830 
• Westphalian Society for the Promotion of National Culture (Minden, Germany), Honorary Member, 1830 
• Zoological Society of London, Foreign Member, 1832 
• Prussian Medical Association, Honorary Member, 1832 
• Association for the Promotion of Horticulture in the Duchy of Braunschweig (a.k.a. Brunswick, Germany) Honorary Member, 1832 
• Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala (Sweden), Member, 1832 
• Scientific Academy of the Bolognese Institute (Bologna, Italy) , Member, 1833 
• Royal Academy of Science in Torino (Italy), Academician, 1833 
• Royal Nordic Society of Antiquaries (Copenhagen, Denmark), Member, 1833 
• Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences (Prague), Honorary Member, 1833 
• Geological Society of Pennsylvania, Corresponding Member, 1834 
• Moldavian Society of Medicine and Natural Sciences, Corresponding Member, 1834 
• Palermo Academy of Sciences and Letters (Italy), Honorary Foreign Member, 1835 
• Physical Sciences Association of Frankfurt (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), Honorary Member, 1835 
• Royal College of Surgeons (London), Honorary Member, 1836 
• Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Honorary Member, 1837 
• Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences (Jakarta, Dutch East Indies), Honorary Member, 1837 
• Statistical Society of London, Foreign Member, 1838 
• Archaeological Society of Athens, Member, 1838 
• Rhode Island Historical Society, Honorary Member, 1838 
• Brussels Society of the Medical and Natural Sciences, Foreign Corresponding Member, 1838 
• British and Foreign Aborigines Protection Society (London), Honorary Member, 1839 
• Swedish Horticultural Association, Member, 1839 
• Historical and Geographical Institute of Brazil, Honorary Member, 1839 
• Economic Association of the Grand Duchy of Baden (Germany), Honorary Member, 1839 
• Italian Society of the Sciences in Modena, Foreign Member, 1840 
• Society for Pomeranian History and Ancient History (Prussia, now Poland), Honorary Member, 1840 
• Naturalist Society of Danzig (Prussia, now Gdansk, Poland), Honorary Member, 1840 
• Pharmaceutical Society of the Bavarian Rhine (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Honorary Member, 1840 
• University of St. Petersburg (Russia), Honorary Fellow, 1841 
• Ethnological Society de Paris, Honorary Member, 1841 
• Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters of Brussels, Academician, 1841 
• Natural Sciences Society of Harz (Germany), Honorary Member, 1841 
• Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia, Correspondent, 1842 
• Royal Netherlands Society for the Promotion of Horticulture, Honorary Member, 1843
• Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester (England), Honorary Member, 1843 
• American Ethnological Society, Honorary Member (signed by Albert Gallatin), 1843 
• Austrian Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, Honorary Member, 1843 
• Palatinate Society for Pharmacy and Technology and Their Fundamental Sciences, (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Honorary Member, 1843 
• Belgian Academy of Archaeology (Antwerp), Honorary Member, 1843 
• Entomological Association of Stettin (Szczecin, Poland), Honorary Member, 1844 
• Imperial Royal Lombardy Institute of Science, Letters, and Art (Italy), Corresponding Member, 1844 
• Royal Zoological Society of Anvers (Antwerp, Netherlands), Honorary Member, 1845 
• Natural History Association for the Prussian Rheinland (Bonn), Honorary Member, 1845 
• German Morning Society (Leipzig), Honorary Member, 1846 
• Garden Association of Götheborg (Sweden), Associate, 1846 
• Geographical Society of St. Petersburg, Honorary Member, 1846 
• Munich Association for Natural History, Honorary Member, 1849 
• Royal Irish Academy, Honorary Member, 1849 
• Royal Academy of Sciences (Madrid, Spain), Foreign Corresponding Member, 1850 
• Imperial Archaeological Society (St. Petersburg, Russia), Honorary Member, 1850 
• Imperial and Royal Society of Physicians in Vienna, Honorary Member, 1851 
• Cambridge Philosophical Society (England), Honorary Member, 1852 
• Royal Academy of the Sciences, Letters, and Arts of Lyon (France), Associate, 1852 
• Imperial Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Honorary Member, 1852 
• Roman Pontifical Academy of Nuovi Lincei, Corresponding Member, 1847 
• Hungarian Geological Society, Member, 1854 
• Privileged Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences (Görlitz, Prussia), Honorary Member, 1854 
• Germanic Museum (Nüremberg), Honorary Member, 1855 
• Association of Friends of the Natural History of the Río de la Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Honorary Member, 1855 
• Besançon Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts (France), Foreign Associate, 1855 
• Imperial and Royal Horticultural Society of Vienna, Honorary Member, 1856  
• Zoological Acclimatization Society (Paris), Honorary Member, 1856
• Association for Microscopy in Giessen (Germany), Honorary Member, 1856 
• Imperial and Central Society of Agriculture (Paris), Foreign Associate, 1856 
• American Geographical and Statistical Society (New York), Honorary Member, 1856 
• Indian Society Under the Motto of Investigation Leads to Truth (The Hague, Netherlands), Honorary Member, 1856 
• Historical Association of Krain (a.k.a. Carniola) (Ljubjana, Slovenia), Honorary Member, 1857 
• Berlin Society for German Language, Honorary Member, 1857 
• Royal Institute for the Encouragement of the Natural Sciences (Naples, Italy), Honorary Member, 1857 
• Geographical Society of Vienna, Honorary Member, 1857 
• Scientific and Literary Academy dei Concordi in Bovolenta (Italy), Honorary Member, 1857 
• Imperial and Royal Institute of Sciences, Letters, and Arts, Venice, Corresponding Associate, 1857 
• Universal Association of Carnival Friends in Düsseldorf, Honorary Member with comedic title: “Assistant Hanswurst and Imperial Chamberlain of His Wicked Majesty,” 1858 
• Medical-Surgical Society of Edinburgh, Honorary Member, 1858 
• Transylvanian Society for Natural Sciences in Hermannstadt (Sibiu, Romania), Honorary Member, 1858 
• Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Member, recognized as the organization’s “oldest Member”, 1859