author
Prinz von Maximilian Wied
1782–1867
An adventurous German naturalist and ethnologist, he is remembered for journeys that documented Brazil and the North American interior at a moment of major change. His careful observations and published travel accounts helped preserve valuable records of Indigenous cultures, wildlife, and landscapes.
3 Audiobooks
Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, part 1
by Prinz von Maximilian Wied
Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, part 3 and appendix
by Prinz von Maximilian Wied
Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, part 2
by Prinz von Maximilian Wied
About the author
Born in Neuwied on September 23, 1782, Maximilian, Prince of Wied-Neuwied, grew up in an aristocratic family but became known less for court life than for science and travel. After military service in Prussia, he turned to natural history and field research, building a reputation as an explorer, ethnologist, and collector.
His first major expedition took him to Brazil from 1815 to 1817, where he studied animals, plants, and Indigenous communities. Later, from 1832 to 1834, he traveled in North America with the Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, journeying up the Missouri River and recording detailed observations of Plains peoples as well as the natural world.
Those travels made him an important source for both natural history and ethnography. His books and collections, especially the material connected with Bodmer's images, remain valued for the vivid way they capture places, people, and species seen during the early nineteenth century.