Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was a writer and naturalist from New England. His most familiar work, Walden, describes the time he spent in a cabin near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. He is also known for being one of the first to write and lecture on the topic of forest succession. His work, along with that of John Muir (1838–1914) and others, has served to inspire those others to understand the natural world and provide for its conservation.