Man and Nature

George Perkins Marsh (1801 - 1882) was an American diplomat, philologist, author and environmentalist. Born to a prominent family in Woodstock, Vermont, Marsh enjoyed a life of educational and political opportunity. Within the first thirty years of his life, Marsh would receive degrees from two colleges, be admitted to the bar, practice law and study Philology. In his late 40s, he was appointed by President Zachary Taylor as the United States Minister Resident to the Ottoman Empire. It was during his travels as a minister resident that Marsh would be inspired to write Man and Nature: Or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action. Published in 1864, the work is a foundational work of ecology and environmental literature that influenced a global move towards conservation and the creation of Adirondack Park here in the United States. Over the course of his life, he would publish over half-a-dozen works on both language and the environment and become the longest-serving chief of mission in U.S. history.