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John Muir Facts

John Muir Facts
John Muir was a Scottish-American environmental philosopher, naturalist and advocate for wilderness preservation. He was born April 21, 1838, in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland, to Daniel Muir and Ann Gilrye. He had 7 brothers and sisters and was the third child born to his parents. He enjoyed reenacting romantic battles from Scottish Independence Wars, as well as regular playground scrapping. His love of nature developed when he was young and spent a lot of his time wandering along the coastline and through the countryside. In 1849 John's family emigrated to the U.S. and started a farm in Wisconsin. John went on to study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He never graduated but studied enough botany and geography to fuel his passions in life.
Interesting John Muir Facts:
In 1863 John's brother moved to Canada to avoid the U.S. Civil War draft and John followed in 1864, studying the woods and swamps around Georgian Bay for three seasons. He then worked south of Meaford until 1865.
John returned to the U.S. in 1866 and worked at a wagon wheel factory until an accident nearly caused him to lose his sight permanently. Once he regained his sight he was determined to spend his life studying plants.
In 1867 John Muir walked to Florida from Kentucky and took a job at Hodgson's sawmill. He almost died of malaria three days later.
In 1968 John saw a ship called the Island Belle that was soon headed for Cuba. He left aboard the ship and stayed in Havana to study flowers and shells, before sailing to New York City.
John Muir worked for the United States Coast Survey as an officer.
John Muir left New York City for California and settled in San Francisco. He explored Yosemite where he was overwhelmed by the landscape.
John Muir built a small cabin in Yosemite along Yosemite Creek. He designed his cabin so that part of the creek flowed through a corner of the cabin.
John Muir wrote a book about his time in Yosemite titled First Summer in the Sierra. He lived in the cabin for two years.
When visitors came to the valley they often met with John Muir as he was a great storyteller, guide, and had a great deal of knowledge about natural history.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science published John Muir's field studies about the isolated groves of Giant Sequoia in 1876.
John Muir was also an inventor. He created a clock with minutes, seconds, and days of the month.
John Muir became known as John of the Mountains and the Father of America's national parks.
John Muir's activism was instrumental in preserving Sequoia National Park and Yosemite Valley, as well as other American wilderness areas.
America's conservation organization the Sierra Club was founded by John Muir.
There have been several places in the United States and Scotland named after John Muir including Muir Woods National Monument, Mount Muir, Muir Beach, and the John Muir Way.
John Muir died at the age of 76, on December 24, 1914.


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