The Story of John Muir
John Muir started out his life as a boy living in Scotland. Then he moved to Wisconsin with his father and sister and brother. His mom and the younger kids stayed at home. The family in America built a house and started a farm. Next, his mom and siblings joined the rest of the family.
He was spanked when he didn’t study the Bible or didn’t memorize it correctly. But what he really wanted to read were books about birds by Audubon and books about American Forests.
He made inventions like clocks, barometers and thermometers and showed them at the state fair. People thought he was really smart and he went to a University. He didn’t get a diploma because he wanted to study all sort of things at once. (In a University, you have to take a path of study and then you get a diploma in that subject.)
He actually had an accident and was blind for a while. When he could see again he really wanted to see nature and all the beautiful things in the world. He trekked all over, even to Alaska and Florida.
He married a woman named Louise many years after he moved to California. They had two daughters, Wanda and Helen. He worked with President Theodor Roosevelt to set aside millions of acres of forestland for National Parks. He also founded the Sierra Club which helps preserve nature to this day.
By Theodora Downing
March 2nd, 2009Topic: Naturalist biographies Tags: Theodora
