George Everest

Colonel Sir George Everest (/ˈiːvrɨst/; July 4, 1790 â€" December 1, 1866) was a Welsh surveyor and geographer, and the Surveyor General of India from 1830 through 1843.

Everest was largely responsible for completing the section of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India along the meridian arc from southern India extending north to Nepal, a distance of about 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi). This survey was started by William Lambton in 1806 and it lasted for several decades.

In 1865, Mount Everest was named in his honour despite his objections by the Royal Geographical Society. This enormous peak was surveyed by Everest's successor, Andrew Scott Waugh, in his role as the Surveyor-General of India.

Biography

Everest was born in Gwernvale Manor, just west of Crickhowell in Powys, Wales, in 1790, and he was baptised in Greenwich.

Commissioned into the Royal Artillery, in 1818, Lt. Everest was appointed as assistant to Colonel William Lambton, who had started the Great Trigonometrical Survey of the subcontinent in 1806. On Lambton's death in 1823, Everest succeeded to the post of superintendent of the survey, and in 1830 he was appointed as the Surveyor-General of India.

Everest retired in 1843 and he returned to live in the United Kingdom, where he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was dubbed a knight in 1861, and in 1862 he was elected as the vice-president of the Royal Geographical Society. Everest died in London in 1866 and is buried in St Andrew's Church, Hove, near Brighton. His niece, Mary Everest, married mathematician George Boole. His daughter was Ethel Everest.

Mussoorie House

He owned a house in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, for some years. Although almost derelict, it still has its roof, and there are plans to make it into a museum at some point in time.

Sir George Everest's House and Laboratory, also known as the Park Estate, is situated about 6 kilometres (4 mi) from Gandhi Chowk / Library Bazaar, (West end of the Mall Road, in Mussoorie). Built in 1832 it was the home and laboratory of Sir George Everest. The house is situated in a place from where one can experience the panoramic view of Doon Valley on one side and a panoramic view of the Aglar River valley and the snowbound Himalayan ranges on the other.

The house is under the jurisdiction of the Tourism Department and has been long neglected. The underground water cisterns can still be seen, outside the house. These underground water tanks are quite deep and lie uncovered, in the front yard, posing danger to humans and animals, especially during snowfall, when the ground is wet and slippery. The interior has been stripped but fireplaces and the door and window frames still remain. The wooden beams that support the ceiling also seem to be in good condition. The floor is littered with bricks, stones and cow dung. The house is also used as shelter from rain and snow by the cows, goats and horses from the nearby village. Its walls are covered with graffiti, which are mostly declarations of love. The kitchen shows some signs of recent renovation, in the form of ceramic floor tiles, several of which have already broken or chipped. Conservation architects at the Indian National Trust are vying for this project.

Pronunciation of "Everest"

Sir George Everest's surname is pronounced /ˈiːvrɨst/. (i.e. Eve-rest with "Eve" pronounced as in the woman's name). The mountain named after him â€" Mount Everest â€" is generally pronounced /ˈɛvÉ™rɨst/ or /ˈɛvrɨst/. (i.e. Ever-est with ever as in evermore).

References

Further reading

• John Keay. 2000. The Great Arc. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-257062-9.
• J. R. Smith. 1999. Everest: The Man and the Mountain. Caithness: Whittles Publishing. ISBN 1-870325-72-9.

External links

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Everest, Sir George". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Photographs of Sir George Everest's house and laboratory, in Mussoorie, India