Michel-Gabriel Paccard

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Michel Gabriel Paccard (1757 - 1827 in Chamonix) was an italian doctor and alpinist.

He studied medicine in Turin. Due to his passion for botany and minerals, he met Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, who initiated the race to be the first to ascend Mont Blanc. Paccard had a first, unsuccessful, attempt in 1783 with Marc Theodore Bourrit. In 1784, he made several attempts with Pierre Balmat. Finally, he made the first ascent of Mont Blanc with Jacques Balmat on August 8, 1786. There is a statue of him in Chamonix.