George Mallory

George Mallory
c. 1916
Born
George Herbert Leigh Mallory

(1886-06-18)18 June 1886
Died8 or 9 June 1924 (aged 37)
Cause of deathMountaineering accident
Body discovered1 May 1999
Alma materMagdalene College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)Teacher, mountaineer
Spouse
Christiana Ruth Turner
(m. 1914)
Children3
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1915–1918
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsFirst World War
Olympic medal record
Men's Alpinism
Representing  United Kingdom
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1924 Chamonix Everest expedition

George Herbert Leigh-Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who participated in the first three British Mount Everest expeditions in the early 1920s. He and Andrew Irvine, were last seen ascending near Everest's summit, during the 1924 expedition, sparking debate as to whether they reached it before they died.

Born in Cheshire, England, Mallory became a student at Winchester College, where a teacher recruited him for an excursion in the Alps, and he developed a strong natural climbing ability. After graduating from Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he became friends with prominent intellectuals, he taught at Charterhouse School while honing his climbing skills in the Alps and the English Lake District. He pioneered new routes and became a respected figure in the British climbing community.

His service in the First World War interrupted his climbing, but he returned with renewed vigor after the war. Mallory's most notable contributions to mountaineering were his expeditions to Everest. In 1921, he participated in the first British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition, which established the North Col-North Ridge as a viable route to the summit. In 1922, he took part in a second expedition to attempt the first ascent of Everest, in which his team achieved a world altitude record of 27,300 ft (8,321 m) using supplemental oxygen. They were awarded Olympic gold medals for alpinism.

During the 1924 expedition, Mallory and climbing partner, Andrew "Sandy" Irvine, disappeared on Everest's Northeast Ridge. They were last seen alive approximately 800 vertical feet (240 metres) from the summit, sparking debate as to whether one or both reached it before they died. Mallory's body was found in 1999 by the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition at 26,760 feet, along with personal effects. The discovery provided clues, but no definitive proof about whether they reached the summit. When asked by a reporter why he wanted to climb Everest, Mallory purportedly replied, "Because it's there."


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