John Muir National Historic Site

Naturalist John Muir, b. Scotland, Apr. 21, 1838, d. Dec. 24, 1914, worked toward gaining popular and federal support for forest conservation and the establishment of national parks. He traveled throughout the United States, entering scientific and personal observations and pencil sketches in his journals. In Alaska he discovered what is now known as Muir Glacier. He also spent six years in Yosemite Valley studying its forests and glacial rock formations. In 1892 he founded the Sierra Club, serving as its first president. In 1908, Theodore Roosevelt established Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County, Calif., in acknowledgment of Muir's achievements.