John Muir: Father of Our National Parks

Mechanics fascinated Muir when he was a young man. This led to his inventions of a horse feeder, a wooden thermometer, and a device that pushed children out of bed before dawn. Muir studied at the University of Wisconsin and worked as a wagon wheel maker, among taking on other odd jobs.
Muir worked as a sheep herder in Yosemite Valley, where the beauty of the area inspired him to write. His first published essay, “Yosemite Glaciers” (1871), discussed his theory that Yosemite was created by glaciers.
As Muir continued to write, Century Magazine editor Robert Underwood Johnson inspired him to work harder on the preservation side of nature. Over the years, Muir’s articles helped shape people’s mindset about nature.
“Before Muir, usually we looked at nature in two different ways: We either looked at it as a resource or a place that was scary,” Mike Wurtz, head of Holt-Atherton Special Collections and Archives at the University of the Pacific Libraries in Stockton, California, told The Epoch Times.
In 1892, Muir played a major role in starting the Sierra Club. It’s now a large environmental organization with chapters operating in every U.S. state. After its formation, Muir was asked to become the club president, a position he held for the rest of his life.
Connor McIntosh is the curator and manager of the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center, the home of the Sierra Club in Yosemite Valley. “He has definitely inspired me and many people who we see come through the doors here where I work [to] care for the land in ways they may not have cared for before, and want to protect this land for future generations,” he told The Epoch Times.
in 1903, Muir famously hosted President Theodore Roosevelt on a camping trip in the backcountry of Yosemite. There, he stressed the need for federal preservation of public lands. Muir’s talk with the president laid the foundation for several conservation efforts nationwide. Muir’s later writings further motivated the government to establish the Grand Canyon and Sequoia national parks.
Toward the end of his life, Muir fought hard against the O’Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. His efforts proved unsuccessful. President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill into law that allowed the construction of the dam in 1913.
After suffering from poor health, Muir passed away from pneumonia on Christmas Eve the next year.