Henry David Thoreau, the naturalist, philosopher, and author of such classics as &quot;Walden&quot; and &quot;Civil Disobedience,&quot; contributed a number of writings to <i>The Atlantic</i> in its early years.&nbsp;<br />The month after his death from tuberculosis, in May 1862, the magazine published &quot;Walking,&quot; one of his most famous essays, which extolled the virtues of immersing oneself in nature and lamented the inevitable encroachment of private ownership upon the wilderness.