Author, Naturalist. He studied nature by wandering on foot through the northern United States and Canada with first hand observations of nature, making trips to Alaska, Australia, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Japan. He also was a prolific writer turning out over 300 articles which appeared in the major publications of the time. He authored ten books, including "Our National Parks" which caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt, whose meeting with John Muir in the Yosemite wilderness setting the stage for the creation of the National Park Service. John Muir was a Scottish immigrant settling with his parents at age eleven in Wisconsin where he became a skilled observer of the natural world. He survived an industrial accident when using a file which pierced his eye leaving him blind but his sight gradually returned. He married and settled in Martinez, California where he grew wealthy managing his in-laws 2,600 acre fruit ranch. On a trip to Los Angeles to visit his daughter, he contacted a cold which developed into pneumonia. Admitted to a Los Angeles hospital he died at age 76 on Christmas Eve. His body was transported back to Martinez where his funeral was held in the now preserved Muir house located on the Strentzel Ranch. He was buried beside his wife who had preceded him in death in the small family cemetery located a mile from the house on the banks of Alhambra Creek. John Muir's writings are his greatest legacy. A series of articles lobbying the federal government to protect Yosemite from development and overgrazing led the way for Congress to bring the area into the national park system. He helped in the creation of Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest and The Grand Canyon as National Parks, and founded the Sierra Club.