Alexander von Humboldt was a German naturalist, botanist and explorer. His discoveries were many, and as such various animals and geographic features are named after him (even on the moon and elsewhere). His writings inspired many, and many foundations and scholarships exist with his name. One of those he inspired, with great tales of the American frontier (PDF) and Humboldt's oft-used word "Lebensraum", was Adolf Hitler (no link needed). That may have been an influencing factor for the creation of the outdoors-oriented Hitler Youth, and even pushed Adolf into expanding to the vast unpopulated expanses of Russia, via Poland, of course.
posted by Kickstart70 on May 26, 2006 - 8 comments

In Europe, it's debated whether it's Suchowola Poland, the village of Krahule near Kremnica Slovakia, Dilove in western Ukraine, or Bernotai Lithuania. In Asia, there are more disputes, but Kyzyl put up an obelisk and stages tours. Various places claim that the Central African Republic is at the geographical centre of Africa, but that seems more likely based on looking at a map than measuring anything. On January 9 1956, Admiral Byrd flew over the geographical center of Antarctica. Alice Springs is pretty close to the centre of Australia. The center of North America is at latitude 48°21'19" north, longitude 99°59' 57" west in Rugby North Dakota. South America's center is officially Chapada dos Guimaraes in Cuiaba Brazil.
posted by Kickstart70 on Dec 1, 2005 - 11 comments