Bradford Washburn
Henry Bradford Washburn, Jr. ( born June 7, 1910 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, . † January 10, 2007 in Lexington, Mass. ) was an American mountaineer, photographer, cartographer and museum director.
Life
Bradford Washburn was born in 1910 in Cambridge (Massachusetts ). He studied geology and geography at Harvard. His main job was from 1939 to 1980 director of the Boston Museum of Science, which he transformed into one of the major science museums in the United States.
Washburn was from the 1920s, one of the leading climbers in the U.S. and in Europe. He climbed many mountains, mainly in Alaska, on new routes. He was often accompanied by his wife Barbara Teel Polk, also a enthusiastic climber and the first woman on the Mount McKinley. He created thousands of photographs, which are characterized by rich abundance of information and artistic expression to prepare flights to these mountain tours. He led by aerial photography as a tool for the exploration of the high mountains and the preparation of mountain tours.
Worldwide known Washburn was with his cards. The topographic maps of Mount McKinley (1960 ) and Mount Everest (1988 ), both in the scale of 1:50,000, he had to edit from the Federal Office of Topography, as he truly appreciated the Swiss type of rock card representation. Both cards experienced several editions.
With his wife Bradford Washburn had a son and a daughter. He died in 2007 in Lexington (Massachusetts ).
Honors
Washburn was nine honorary doctorates and has received awards from the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the King Albert Medal.