Search

This article examines Arnold Guyot's (1807-1884) studies of the physical geography of New England within the concept of "Humboldtian science." After a brief explanation of that framework, it discusses Guyot's work on the Smithsonian Institution's meteorological project and his measurement of the heights of New England mountains and their written and cartographic display. Guyot is shown to be a full participant in and a leading practitioner of Humboldt's methods during his New England years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), four times Prime Minister, was also the most prolific Victorian commentator on the Homeric corpus. In 1858 Gladstone published a three-volume collection of Homeric studies, including a curious cartographic reconstruction of the mental world of Homer as revealed in his epic poetry. Over a forty-five year period, Gladstone continued to publish in this area, in the interest primarily of elevating British education and culture. His interest in Bronze Age geography, a subordinate part of his general effort, is nevertheless of interest in its own right and, in his attempt to reconstruct Homer's mental map of the world, an early example of mental mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]