John Muir

By Amy Weiss

Apr 2 2019

John Muir (1838–1914) was an influential naturalist and conservationist, and co-founder of the Sierra Club. Muir once described himself as a "poetico-trampo-geologist-botanist and ornithologist-naturalist etc. etc. !!!". As a wilderness explorer, he is known for his adventures throughout the world in search of nature's beauty; especially in California's Sierra Nevada. As a writer, he taught us the importance of experiencing and protecting our natural heritageeven if Muir's beliefs feel antiquated today. As a botanist, he collected many herbarium specimens that we can still study.


Explore further:

Nobel, J. (2016, Jul 16). The miseducation of John Muir. Atlas Obscura. Available at: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-miseducation-of-john-muir (Accessed: 24 Jul 2020).
Sahagun, L. (2014, Nov 13). John Muir’s legacy questioned as centennial of his death nears. Los Angeles Times. Available at:
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-rethinking-muir-20141113-story.html (Accessed: 24 Jul 2020).
Sierra Club (n.d.). Who Was John Muir? The John Muir Exhibit. Available at:
https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/about/ (Accessed: 1 April 2019).