27/10/2023
Who is Mount Everest named after?
In 1852 the British-sponsored Great Trigonometrical Survey, which had been mapping the Indian subcontinent since the early 1800s, identified the highest mountain in the world straddling Nepal and Tibet in the Himalayas. The British initially referred to the 29,035-foot-tall pinnacle as Peak XV until Andrew Waugh, the surveyor general of India, proposed that it be named for his predecessor, Sir George Everest.
Born in Wales on July 4, 1790, Everest attended military schools in England before spending much of his adult life in India. After working for the East India Company, the geodesist joined the Great Trigonometrical Survey in 1818 and spent 25 years on the project, working his way up to superintendent in 1823 and then surveyor general of India in 1830. He returned to Great Britain following his retirement in 1843 and was knighted in 1861
the historic, local Tibetan name for Mount Everest is Chomolungma, also spelled Qomolangma, meaning "Goddess Mother of the World." Chomolungma is pronounced "CHOH-moh-LUHNG-m?." The Nepali name for Mount Everest is Sagarmatha, meaning "Godess of the Sky." Some refer to the entire massif of peaks as Qomolangma (Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse), reserving the name Mount Everest for the highest peak. The name "Mount Everest" nevertheless persists as the most universally recognized name throughout the world, synonymous with "a stupendous snowy mass" on the border of Nepal and Tibet in Earth's greatest convergent orogenic belt
picture :e.m.a_27
