Statue of Alexander von Humboldt (Philadelphia)
 The monument in 2024 | |
 | |
| 39°58′56″N 75°12′21″W / 39.98224°N 75.20581°W | |
| Location | Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
|---|---|
| Designer | Friedrich Drake |
| Material | Bronze Granite (pedestal) |
| Beginning date | September 13, 1869 |
| Completion date | 1871 |
| Dedicated date | 1876 |
| Dedicated to | Alexander von Humboldt |
The Alexander von Humboldt statue is a monumental statue of Alexander von Humboldt in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in Fairmount Park, the statue was completed in 1871 and donated to the city in 1876.
History
[edit]Alexander von Humboldt was a Prussian polymath active during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.[1][2] In May 1804, on the last stage of his scientific journey through the Americas, he visited Philadelphia.[3] On September 13, 1869, on the centennial anniversary of Humboldt's birth, the cornerstone for a monument honoring him was laid in Fairmount Park, on a knoll overlooking the Girard Avenue Bridge, by the city's German society.[4] The statue on Humboldt was designed by Friedrich Drake, a German sculptor based in Berlin.[5] It was dedicated in 1871.[6] Several years later, in 1876, on the centennial of American independence, the statue was gifted to the city of Philadelphia and dedicated again.[7] According to the Association for Public Art, the statue was moved to another part of the park in 1977.
Design
[edit]The monument consists of a bronze sculpture of Humboldt placed on a granite socle. Humboldt is wearing a long coat, with his left hand on a globe. In his right hand is a scroll with "COSMOS" written on it.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Daum 2024.
- ^ Tatlock & Erlin 2005, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Pohlsander 2010, p. 76.
- ^ Scharf & Westcott 1884, p. 1859.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project 1937.
- ^ Scharf & Westcott 1884, p. 1868.
- ^ a b Pohlsander 2010, p. 77.
Bibliography
[edit]- Philadelphia, a Guide to the Nation's Birthplace. Compiled by the Federal Writers' Project, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission (1st ed.). The Telegraph Press. 1937. p. 549. ISBN 978-1-62376-058-8 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - Andreas W. Daum, "Nation, Naturforschung und Monument: Humboldt-Denkmäler in Deutschland und den USA" [Humboldt monuments in Germany and the US]. Die Kunst der Geschichte: Historiographie, Ästhetik, Erzählung, ed. Martin Baumeister et al. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009, 99‒124.
- Daum, Andreas W. (2024). Alexander von Humboldt: A Concise Biography. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-24736-6.
- Pohlsander, Hans A. (2010). German Monuments in the Americas: Bonds Across the Atlantic. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-0343-0138-1 – via Google Books.
- Scharf, J. Thomas; Westcott, Thompson (1884). History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884. Vol. III. L. H. Everts & Company – via Google Books.
- Tatlock, Lynne; Erlin, Matt, eds. (2005). German Culture in Nineteenth-century America: Reception, Adaptation, Transformation. Camden House Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57113-308-3 – via Google Books.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Statue of Alexander von Humboldt (Philadelphia) at Wikimedia Commons- Association for Public Art
