Bradford Washburn
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Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 - January 10, 2007) was an explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer extraordinaire. He was the director of the Boston Museum of Science from 1939-1980, and was its Honorary Director (a lifetime appointment) from 1985 until his death.
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University. He returned to Harvard to earn a master’s degree in geology and geography in 1960.
Washburn was noted for his exploits in four areas. First, he was one of the leading American mountaineers in the 1920s through the 1950s, putting up first ascents and new routes on many major Alaskan peaks (often with his wife, Barbara Washburn, one of the pioneers among female mountaineers). Second, he pioneered the use of aerial photography in the analysis of mountains and in planning mountaineering expeditions. His thousands of striking black-and-white photos, mostly of Alaskan peaks and glaciers, are known for their wealth of informative detail and their artistry. They are the reference standard for route photos of Alaskan climbs.
Third, he was responsible for some of the finest maps ever made of mountain regions; his map of Mount McKinley and his map of Mount Everest are perhaps the most notable, although his map of the Presidential Range in New Hampshire was closer to home. Fourth, and not least, his stewardship of the Boston Museum of Science made it into a first-class museum.
It is especially remarkable to note that some of these achievements – in particular the Everest map and subsequent further work on the elevation and geology of Everest – were carried out in his 70s and 80s.
Washburn gathered many awards over the course of his career, including nine honorary doctorates, the Centennial Award of the National Geographic Society (shared with his wife Barbara, the first woman to summit Mount McKinley), and the King Albert Medal of Merit.
He died of heart failure on January 10, 2007, at the age of 96, in a retirement home in Lexington, Massachusetts. In addition to his wife, he left a son, Edward H., and two daughters, Dorothy Dundas and Elizabeth Cabot. [1].
[edit] Selected Alaskan first ascents
- 1933: Pointed Peak, Fairweather Range, Saint Elias Mountains
- 1934: Mount Crillon, Fairweather Range, Saint Elias Mountains
- 1937: Mount Lucania, Saint Elias Mountains
- 1938: Mount Marcus Baker, Chugach Mountains
- 1938: Mount Sanford, Wrangell Mountains
- 1940: Mount Bertha, Fairweather Range, Saint Elias Mountains
- 1941: Mount Hayes, Alaska Range
- 1944: Mount Deception, Alaska Range
- 1945: Mount Silverthrone, Alaska Range
- 1947: McGonagall Mountain, Alaska Range
- 1951: West Buttress Route on Mount McKinley, Alaska Range
- 1951: Kahiltna Dome, Alaska Range
- 1955: Mount Dickey, Alaska Range
[edit] Sources
- Michael Wood and Colby Coombs, Alaska: A Climbing Guide, The Mountaineers, 2001.
- King Albert Medal of Merit Citation and Biography
- Photographing In High Places
- 1934 American Alpine Journal, page 152.
- 1948 American Alpine Journal, page 44.
- 1952 American Alpine Journal, pages 214 and 217.
- 1956 American Alpine Journal, page 48.
[edit] External links
- Photographing In High Places A portfolio of ten photographs from the Alaska Range and the Yukon made between 1938 and 1978.
- Obituary in the New York Times
