Wisconsin History Day By Day


Related Web Sites:
John Muir Exhibit

Ecology Hall of Fame

John Muir Writings

Sierra Club, Wisconsin Chapter


Read More About It

"Son of the Wilderness, The Life of John Muir" by Linnie Marsh Wolfe

"John Muir in His Own Words, A Book of Quotations" edited by Peter Browning

"John Muir - Nature's Visionary" by Gretel Ehrlich

"John Muir - America's Naturalist" by Thomas Locker


Vocabulary:

values
naturalist
influential
conservationist


Interesting Fact:

John Muir camped with President Teddy Roosevelt in 1903 in a remote spot in Yosemite.


Study Questions:

  • What were some of Muir's inventions?
  • What is Muir's connection with Yosemite National Park? With the Sierra Club?
  • What other famous environmentalists have Wisconsin connections?


    U.S. historical events that occurred on May 5:

    1925: John Scopes was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in a Tennessee school.
    1961: Alan Shepard Jr. became the first American space traveler when a rocket propelled his capsule on a 15-minute suborbital flight.



  • May 5

    May 1849: The Muir family, after a long journey from Scotland, arrived at their Fountain Lake Farm in Marquette County in May of 1849. It was here that young John Muir developed his deep respect and love of nature that helped to shape his values. The young naturalist and inventor continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Muir wandered about observing nature, eventually moving to California where he became the country's most influential and famous naturalist and conservationist. Muir died in 1914.


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