Biography: People are unfamiliar with the accomplishments of Alexander Von Humboldt (1769-1859) even though a street in Winnetka, a park and school in Chicago, eight U.S. cities, an ocean current, a species of penguin, a skunk, and a lily all are named after him. Humboldt was a Prussian naturalist, geographer, and explorer. He traveled over 24,000 miles in south America. He is responsible for many discoveries later advanced by others.