Muir, John

Muir, John
born April 21, 1838, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scot.
died Dec. 24, 1914, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.

U.S. naturalist and conservationist.

Muir emigrated from Scotland with his family to Wisconsin in 1849. An 1867 accident caused him to abandon an industrial career and devote himself to nature. He began his efforts to establish a federal forest conservation policy in 1876. His writings swung public opinion in favour of Pres. Grover Cleveland's proposal for national forest reservations and influenced Pres. Theodore Roosevelt's conservation program, and he was largely responsible for establishing Sequoia and Yosemite national parks (1890). He was the chief founder and first president of the Sierra Club (1892–1914). In 1908 the U.S. government established the Muir Woods National Monument in Marin Co., California.

John Muir

By courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

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▪ American naturalist
born April 21, 1838, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scot.
died Dec. 24, 1914, Los Angeles
 naturalist, advocate of U.S. forest conservation, who was largely responsible for the establishment of Sequoia (Sequoia National Park) and Yosemite national parks (Yosemite National Park) in California. Muir's article on Yosemite appeared in the 10th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (see the Britannica Classic: ).

      Muir emigrated from Scotland with his family to a farm near Portage, Wis., in 1849. After attending the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he worked on mechanical inventions, but in 1867, when an industrial accident nearly cost him an eye, he abandoned that career and devoted himself to nature. He walked from the Middle West to the Gulf of Mexico, keeping a journal, A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf (published posthumously in 1916) as he went. In 1868 he went to the Yosemite Valley, California, from which he took many trips into Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, inspired by his interest in glaciers and forests. He was the first to attribute the spectacular Yosemite formations to glacial erosion, a theory now generally accepted.

      As early as 1876, Muir urged the federal government to adopt a forest conservation policy. The Sequoia and Yosemite national parks were established in 1890. Early in 1897, Pres. Grover Cleveland designated 13 national forests (national forest) to be preserved from commercial exploitation; business interests induced Congress to postpone the effect of that measure, but two eloquent magazine articles (June and August 1897) by Muir swung public and Congressional opinion in favour of national forest reservations. He also influenced the large-scale conservation program that was initiated by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt (Roosevelt, Theodore), who in 1903 accompanied Muir on a camping trip to the Yosemite region.

      In 1908 the government established the Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County, California.

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  • Muir,John — Muir (myo͝or), John. 1838 1914. Scottish born American naturalist who promoted the creation of national parks and reservations. * * * …   Universalium

  • Muir, John — (21 abr. 1838, Dunbar, East Lothian, Escocia–24 dic. 1914, Los Ángeles, Cal., EE.UU.). Naturalista y conservacionista estadounidense. Emigró con su familia de Escocia a Wisconsin en 1849. En 1867, un accidente lo hizo abandonar una carrera en la… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • MUIR, JOHN —    a Sanskrit scholar, born in Glasgow; was of the Indian Civil Service; was a man of liberal views, particularly in religion, and a patron of learning; endowed the Chair of Sanskrit in Edinburgh University (1810 1882) …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • John Muir National Historic Site — Das viktorianische Wohnhaus von John Muir …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • John Muir (Pflanzensammler) — John Muir John Muir (* 18. Juni 1874 in Castle Douglas, Schottland; † 3. August 1947 in Riversdale, Kapprovinz) war ein schottischer Arzt und Pflanzensammler im südlichen Afrika. Sein offizielles botanisches Autorenkürzel lautet „John …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Muir Woods — National Monument Muir Woods NM …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • John Muir High School (Pasadena, California) — Infobox School name = John Muir High School established = 1955 type = Public principal = Sheryl Orange grades = 9 12 faculty = 49 students = approx. 1,300 mascot = The Mustang colors = Blue and Gold color box|Bluecolor box|Gold motto = The Home… …   Wikipedia

  • John Muir — noun United States naturalist (born in England) who advocated the creation of national parks (1838 1914) • Syn: ↑Muir • Instance Hypernyms: ↑naturalist, ↑natural scientist * * * John Muir [ …   Useful english dictionary

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