Why is ellsworth huntington important information
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April 17, 2011
Ellsworth Huntington was one of the early twentieth century’s most prolific science writers. The author of 28 books, contributor to 29 others and author of more than 240 articles, [1] Huntington was a climatic determinist who held that geography was the “basis for history.” [2] Civilization according to Huntington owed its rise to the weather. He suggested his superior “Teutonic stock” was a natural consequence of the same atmospheric conditions that cause thunderstorms.
But Huntington was worried. He felt he had solid statistical evidence that as his race took on what he thought was its evolutionary obligation to dominate it faced two serious threats: the physically and morally debilitating effects of the tropics and tropical women on WASPs who worked abroad, and the productivity-sapping effects of luxuries like central heating on those who worked at home.
Initially Huntington proposed simple mechanical solutions to these “problems,” like a housing u
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Huntington, Ellsworth
WORKS BY HUNTINGTON
SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ellsworth Huntington (1876-1947), American geographer, was the most notable exponent of environmentalism in the English-speaking world in the twentieth century, rivaled only by the Australian geographer Thomas Griffith Taylor. Trained as a geologist, Huntington took a post in 1897 at a small college in Turkey; after two years at Harvard, 1901-1903, he was attached to the Pumpelly expedition for geographic and rcheological explorations in Turkestan and Iran. This experience, and further travels in India, Tibet, and Siberia, inspired his first major work, The Pulse of Asia (1907), in which he stressed the role of climatic change, especially desiccation, in initiating chain reactions of nomadic movements that culminated in such upheavals as the Mongol, Mogul, and Manchu invasions. From 1907 until his death Huntington was associated with Yale University; he traveled extensively in all continents except Antarctica
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Ellsworth Huntington
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Definition
Ellsworth Huntington was an American geographer and climate scientist known for his controversial theories connecting climate to human activities and cultural patterns. He argued that climate played a crucial role in shaping civilization, suggesting that certain climatic conditions fostered the development of complex societies while others hindered it, linking environmental factors directly to cultural outcomes.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
- Huntington published his influential work, 'Civilization and Climate' in 1915, where he detailed his ideas about the impact of climate on civilization.
- He categorized regions based on climatic factors and their perceived capacity for societal advancement, arguing that temperate climates were more conducive to civilization than tropical or arid climates.
- Huntington's ideas have been criticized for oversimplifying the complex relationship between environment and culture