Five for Friday: Five Famous Faces in Geography

1. Mother Teresa: A Catholic nun and a geography teacher at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta, this Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian is, to this day, one of the most famous icons of peace.
2. Alexander Von Humboldt: An early 19th century explorer and naturalist, this world-famous geographer is considered by many “the founder” of fields such as ecology, oceanography, physical geography, and climatology. Author of “Cosmos: Draft of a Physical Description of the World,” Humboldt continues to live on through his writings and science foundation.
3. Michael Jordan: Most famous for being one of, if not the, greatest professional basketball players of all time, this ‘hoopster’ got his undergraduate degree in cultural geography, making geography the highest paid major out of North Carolina’s graduating class of 1986!

2010-10-02_0935329.JPG4. Prince William: A now newly-wed, Prince William spent much of his courtship of the beautiful Kate Middleton with his nose buried in geography books. The prince graduated from St. Andrews University with a Masters degree in geography. According to BBC News, he wrote his 10,000-word dissertation on the coral reefs of Rodrigues.
5. Marco Polo: Known by U.S. children under the age of eight as the inspiration for a fun swimming-pool past-time, this famous geographic explorer is best known in the historical record for his careful documentation and mapping of the Silk Road.

2011-04-04_0000143.JPGQuestions, comments, concerns? E-mail us at NatGeoEd@ngs.org
Photo Credits: My Shot Your Shot, Sharon Esparza & Simon Rhodes
–Julia from My Wonderful World

Leave a Reply