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'''John Muir''' (1838-1914) was an American environmentalist, writer and explorer. With his passion for nature he was one of the most influential American conservationists, and his efforts helped to establish Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in California. Many natural wonders have been named in his honor, including Muir Woods National Monument, a virgin stand of redwoods, near San Francisco, California. Muir preached that nature was sacred and humans are intruders who should look but not develop.  He was opposed by the efficiency-oriented conservationists led by [[Gifford Pinchot]] and [[Theodore Roosevelt]].  He founded the [[Sierra Club]] and remains an icon of liberalism.  He was primarily responsible for defining the environmentalist position, in the debate between [[Conservation and environmentalism]].

'''John Muir''' (1838-1914) was an American environmentalist, writer and explorer. With his passion for nature he was one of the most influential American writers and activists on envirnmental affairs; his efforts helped to establish Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in California. Many natural wonders have been named in his honor, including Muir Woods National Monument, a virgin stand of redwoods, near San Francisco, California. Muir preached that nature was sacred and humans are intruders who should look but not develop.  He was opposed by the efficiency-oriented conservationists led by [[Gifford Pinchot]] and [[Theodore Roosevelt]].  He founded the [[Sierra Club]] and remains an icon of liberalism.  He was primarily responsible for defining the environmentalist position, in the debate between [[Conservation and environmentalism]].

==Career==

==Career==

Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland. His intensely religious Presbyterian family emigrated to the United States when he was 11 years old and settled on a farm near Portage, Wisconsin. Muir endured very heavy farm labor but by home schooling and systematic self-education he escaped to attend the University of Wisconsin from 1859 to 1863; he did not graduate. A botanist, he took extensive walking trips to study plants. In 1867 he pledged to devote the rest of his life "to the study of the inventions of God." Muir made a walking trip from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico to observe the plants, animals, and physical features of the country. During this trip Muir kept extensive journals, in which he entered day by day his observations on the flora, the forests, physiography of the country, and experiences with the inhabitants. He also confided to it his personal reflections on man's attitude toward nature, the animal world, and the processes of life and death. The journal is important for an understanding of Muir at this stage of his career. It was published after Muir's death as ''A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf'' (1916).  

Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland. His intensely religious Presbyterian family emigrated to the United States when he was 11 years old and settled on a farm near Portage, Wisconsin. Muir endured very heavy farm labor but by home schooling and systematic self-education he escaped to attend the University of Wisconsin from 1859 to 1863; he did not graduate. A botanist, he took extensive walking trips to study plants. In 1867 he pledged to devote the rest of his life "to the study of the inventions of God." Muir made a walking trip from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico to observe the plants, animals, and physical features of the country. During this trip Muir kept extensive journals, in which he entered day by day his observations on the flora, the forests, physiography of the country, and experiences with the inhabitants. He also confided to it his personal reflections on man's attitude toward nature, the animal world, and the processes of life and death. The journal is important for an understanding of Muir at this stage of his career. It was published after Muir's death as ''A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf'' (1916).