John Muir

Born in Dunbar, Scotland, on April 21, 1838, he moved with his family to Wisconsin as a boy. After early work in industry and a serious eye injury that changed his course, he turned toward a life of travel, close observation, and writing about the natural world.

He became especially closely linked with California and Yosemite, where his essays and books celebrated wild landscapes with unusual energy and feeling. His writing about glaciers, mountains, forests, and long walking journeys made him one of the best-known nature writers of his time.

He was also an influential conservation advocate and helped found the Sierra Club in 1892. He died on December 24, 1914, but his books, journals, and legacy remain central to the history of American environmental thought.