“When I was a boy in Scotland, I was fond of every thing that was wild, and all my life I’ve been growing fonder and fonder of wild places and wild creatures.”

 

Born in Dunbar, Scotland to parents Daniel Muir and Ann Gilrye, John Muir was the third of eight children in the Muir family.

Daniel Muir was a strict father and a devoted Christian, who made his children study and memorise Bible verses every day. This marked the start of the introduction of religion in John Muir’s life since early childhood.

 

 

Hometown

Dunbar is a coastal town located in East Lothian, Scotland. It was described by Muir in his book of The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913) to have “no lack of wilderness”. Surrounded by nature and its likes since young, Muir had no shortage of access to the wilderness and unstructured nature play. Growing up, Muir had always been curious and drawn to the natural world, demonstrating his innate need to be around natural stimuli, which is also known as biophilia.

 

 

Education

During his early childhood education, Muir was exposed to a vast variety of literature, some of which notably had a lasting impression on him and were mentioned in his book of The Story of My Boyhood and Youth, as they imparted moral values and taught the importance of the wilderness and learning to live alongside it.

 

The Inchcape Rock

A poem written by English poet Robert Southey tells the story about a priest who installed a bell on the Inchcape Rock to warm the ships of great storms and waves that caused Inchcape Rock to be covered under water. However, the bell was cut down by a pirate. After some time, the pirate returned to Scotland and ultimately met his own demise when his ship capsized after colliding with the Inchcape Rock.

 

Llewellyn’s Dog

This fable tells the story of a Llewellyn and his loyal dog – Gellert. One day, Llewellyn entrusted his son under the care of Gellert, who protected Llewellyn’s son from a big wolf. Misinterpreting the blood on Gellert to be that of his son’s, Llewellyn killed Gellert. After knowing the truth, Llewellyn mourned the death of Gellert like he would a brother. Whilst this story does not have a happy ending, it relayed to its readers the loyalty that animals can display and hence the possibility of a deeper human-animal relationship.