Sir George Everest

Powys-born Surveyor-General of India after whom the highest mountain in the world was named.

Born:

1790

Place of Birth:

Crickhowell

"An illustrious master of geographical research" Sir George Everest

Trivia:

George Everest may never have laid eyes on the mountain which was named in his memory.

Biography:

George Everest was born in the Manor of Gwernvale at Crickhowell in Powys, in 1790. His pioneering mapping work led to a mountain in the Himalayas being declared the highest peak in the world - and it was named after him.

A military engineer and geodesist, he went to India in 1823 to take on a mammoth task - to complete the Great Trigonometrical Survey of the sub-continent which William Lambton had begun in 1806.

The survey would take up 25 years of his life and would map a huge area - almost 2,400km from Cape Comorin in the south to the Himalayas in the north. It's said that Everest was relentless in his pursuit of accuracy and that he made countless adaptations to the surveying equipment, the methods and the calculations involved.

Seven years after he was appointed superintendent of the Great Trigonometrical Survey, George Everest was also made Surveyor General in India.

It is known that Everest travelled to the foothills of the Himalayas as part of his work but there is no firm evidence that he actually saw the summit of the mountain which bears his name.

However, the triangulation theories developed by Everest were to be used in 1852 to locate the summit by the man who succeeded him as Surveyor General in India, Andrew Waugh.

At first, the world's highest mountain was dubbed Peak XV but Waugh wanted a lasting tribute to his predecessor who had done so much ground-breaking work on the survey.

"Here is a mountain most probably the highest in the world without any local name that I can discover", wrote Waugh at the time. He went on to suggest a name, writing that "to perpetuate the memory of that illustrious master of geographical research..." the mountain should be called Everest.

Everest was knighted in 1861 and in 1865, Peak XV was officially named Mount Everest in his honour.

It has since come to light of course that the mountain did have more than one local name its known in the Tibetan language as Chomolungma and in Nepal as Sagamartha. But across the world, it is the name of a Powys man which is associated with the world's highest peak.

Ed from New Ferry on Merseyside sent us this additional information:

"He attended the military academy at Woolwich, excelling at mathematics. In 1806 he went to India as a cadet in the Bengal Artillery, and was selected by Sir Stamford Raffles to take part in the reconnaissance of Java between 1814 and 1816. In 1818 he was appointed as assistant to Colonel Lambton, who had started the Great Trigonometrical Survey of the sub-continent in 1806.

In 1823, on Colonel Lambton's death, he succeeded to the post of superintendent of the survey, and in 1830 he was appointed surveyor-general of India. He retired in 1843 and returned to live in England, where he became fellow of the Royal Society. He was chosen vice-president of the Royal Geographical Society in 1862. He died at Greenwich.

George Everest was the uncle of the mathematician Mary Everest Boole."

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Crickhowell mini site...

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The first Welshman to climb Mount Everest was also from Mid Wales - Caradog Jones. If you know more about this intrepid climber from Tregaron, let us know and we can add the details to the site.

your comments

Derek Smiley
I had the privilege of meeting Caradog Jones at an Outward Bound course around 1976. As a townie I had no idea about climbing or walking through the mountains.Caradog was great in leading us and he could speak that funny Welsh language. The farmers loved him and were very helpful when we trespassed on their land!Not only was he a great climber (probally still is), but as a person was very modest and a great guy to be with.Well done on climbing that Everest, a bit bigger than Snowdon!I haven't seen Caradog in 30 plus years, since the mountain boy came to my wedding. My friends still talk about him, they had never met a wild Welshman before!
Kath, BBC web team: Caradog came to my wedding (we shared a house a Bangor University) and caused a bit of a stir too!
Thu Jun 4 12:08:11 2009

Sally Stewart, Bangor CoDown
Had Sir George a connection in N.Ireland? My grandfather's sister Martha(Marie) married Johnny Everest who is GrtGrandson a few times removed. Would be interested for my family tree.
Tue Feb 10 09:58:14 2009

Shan Ashton, Capel Curig
caradoc jones, the first welshman up Everest, is my brother! We climed together when we were young, he is 5 years younger than me. Always an excellent climber and very modest and unassuming with it. Really thinks about places not just heights / firsts etc - a thoughtful person. Is always concerned about people and places. Was deserving of being the first up Everest although we both respect and admire Eric JOnes enormously and felt his contributions and efforst were worth ten times any other climber!!!
Fri Feb 6 14:55:03 2009

I D Davis from Walsall
Sir george's surname was pronounced Eve (as Mrs.Adam)rest.
Sun Oct 12 17:03:58 2008

John Evans
In July 1824 in a letter to the Surveyor General of India, George Everest (later to be Sir George) wrote:-‘I entered the service of the Honorable Company (The East India Company) at the early age of 14, passed under their patronage through the Royal Military College of Marlow in the space of 5 months,....’
Source - EVEREST The Man and The Mountain by J R Smith, Whittles Publishing, 1999, ISBN 1-870325-72-9
Thu Jul 17 09:30:57 2008

Bob (bobby)
Where was his university of training?
Wed Mar 19 09:03:21 2008

John Evans
The claim that Everest was born at Gwernvale is a fiction, if the 1851 Census Return for Winkfield Berkshire is to be believed. It records Lt Col George Everest, EICL Retired, being at Laurel Hill House on the night of March 30th, with his wife, daughter and eight servants. His place of birth is recorded as 'Kent, Greenwich'. (Investigation of his schooling continues.)
Mon Nov 26 08:18:03 2007

John Evans
Several sources say Everest went to school in Marlow. The Junior Military Academy was here in Marlow the year that Everest entered Woolwhich (August 1804). But he does not appear in the Junior Academy rolls in 1804 or 1803. Any ideas, please.
Tue Oct 23 08:14:36 2007

Julian Brearley, Aigre, France
There certainly is a book about the Trigonometrical Survey, Titled 'The Great Arc' by John Keay - ISBN 0-00-653123-7 - A great read it is too...
Tue Sep 11 13:38:09 2007

Lixin, China
"Here is a mountain most probably the highest in the world without any local name that I can discover" is not true. Actuality, the highest mountain is called Samarghata (God of Sky) by Nepali, and Chomolungma (Goddess of earth) by Tibetan. The latter was written at 1717 by a surveyor of the Qing Dynasty at the Emperor's map.
Mon Jul 16 09:54:54 2007

Sue Upstone
Is there a book out there on the Trigonometrical Survey of England and Wales? If so who is the author and the publisher.
Thu Nov 23 17:18:12 2006

Peter Everest
Interesting stuff!
Fri Aug 25 10:53:24 2006

Harry Peacock, Abermorddu, Flintshire,
Despite the widely held belief that Sir George Everest was born in the Manor of Gwernvale, Crickhowell, there is no creditable documentation to support this claim. In fact much anecdotal evidence would seem to point against this postulation. Gwernvale passed into the Everest family, seemingly during the 1780s where it remained up until the death of George's father, Tristram, in 1825. It is well documented that George Everest spent much of his childhood there. However, George's baptism took place on the 27th January 1791 at St. Alphege's Church, Greenwich. Names of parents, Tristram and Lucette Mary, as well as date of birth (4th. July, 1790) are cited on the Baptism certificate. Unfortunately the certificate did not include place of birth. Although his actual birthplace location remains open to speculation, the Richmond Herald found a statement by George Everest (circa 1861) that he was in fact born in Greenwich. This statement, of course may or may not hold true. However, this notion can hold no particular surprise, as the Everest family are reported to have resided in Greenwich for most of the 18th. century if not longer. Most significantly, at an address in Lime Kiln Lane at the time of George's childhood. (Smith, 1999) Everest Trivia: On the 17th. Nov. 1846, at the age of 56, George Everest married 23 year old Emma Wing. They had six children, two of whom died in early childhood. George was eventually Interred with the two children at Hove. George Everest died at 10 Westbourne Street, Paddington on the 1st. Dec. 1866 and was buried at St. Andrew's Old Parish Church, Hove on the 8th. Dec. This was also the resting place of George's sister Lucetta Mary, as well as Thomas Wing, Everest's Father-in-law who died on the 12th. Nov. 1850 at Brighton, and was 6 years Everest's junior. (Reference: Everest-the Man and the Mountain, Smith, J.R., (1999) Whittles publishing, Caithness
Wed Jan 4 10:56:49 2006

Madeline b. Frisco TX
George Everest also fought in various battles, and led our country through these!
Wed Apr 13 18:49:15 2005

Kittus, Surrey
Wow! I never knew that! I'll keep that in my memory from now on.
Sat Mar 12 18:57:26 2005

Guy Cornish from Hove, Sussex
Sir George Everest is buried in St Andrew's Old Church, Hove.
Thu Nov 25 14:34:15 2004

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