Edward Whymper

Edward Whymper (1840 to 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator and author, best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, during which four members of his party were killed on the descent. Born in Lambeth, London, the second of eleven children, he trained as a wood engraver and first went to the Alps in 1860 to make commissioned drawings of alpine scenery, including an unsuccessful attempt on Mont Pelvoux in the Dauphiné Alps. He also made important first ascents in the Mont Blanc massif and the Pennine Alps, and climbed Chimborazo in South America and in the Canadian Rockies. His exploration of Greenland advanced Arctic exploration, and he wrote several books on mountaineering, including Scrambles Amongst the Alps.