Abstract
MR. DOUGLAS FBESHFIELD, who died in his eighty-ninth year on February 9, was prominent as a promoter of the serious study of geography for more than fifty years. As an Eton boy he made several ascents in the Alps and his love of mountains grew with his growth. He was recognised as one of the greatest mountaineers of the Alpine Club; but his attitude was that of an explorer and student of mountains rather than that of a sportsman, keen on records of first ascents. He broke new ground in the Alps, the Caucasus and the Himalayas, and in his sixtieth year he started from Mombasa with the intention of making an ascent of Mt. Ruwenzori, and he reached 12,000 ft. before turning. He wrote many books of much charm; the two largest, “The Exploration of the Central Caucasus”(1896) and “Round Kangchenjunga” (1903), are permanent works of great value, masterpieces of the literature of travel and illustrated with superb photographs. His biography of the great Swiss mountaineer and man of science, H. B. de Saussure (1920), was recognised as a classic.
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MILL, H. Mr. Douglas W. Freshfield, D.C.L. Nature 133, 351 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133351a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133351a0