John Muir

Born in Dunbar, Scotland, on April 21, 1838, he moved with his family to Wisconsin as a boy and grew into a gifted observer of the natural world. After an eye injury temporarily took his sight in early adulthood, he turned even more strongly toward a life outdoors, traveling widely and filling notebooks with descriptions of plants, landscapes, and the feeling of being in wild country.

He became closely identified with California’s Sierra Nevada and with Yosemite, where his articles and books helped persuade readers that wilderness was worth protecting for its own sake. He was a founder of the Sierra Club in 1892 and remained its president until his death, and his campaigning was important in the creation and protection of major parklands including Yosemite and Sequoia.

He died on December 24, 1914, but his legacy has lasted far beyond his lifetime. Remembered as a naturalist, essayist, and early leader of the conservation movement, he helped shape the American idea of national parks as places of wonder, refuge, and public care.