William Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington (12 April 1856 – 19 April 1937), known between 1895 and 1931 as Sir Martin Conway, was an English art critic, politician, cartographer and
mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...
, who made expeditions in Europe as well as in South America and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.
Conway was occupied on several university positions and from 1918 to 1931 was a representative of the combined English universities as a conservative member in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
.
In 1872 he took up mountain climbing and went on expeditions to
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern No ...
from 1896 to 1897 and the
Bolivian Andes in 1898. He is an author of books on art and exploration, which include ''Mountain Memories'' (1920), ′'Art Treasures of Soviet Russia'' (1925), and ''Giorgione as a Landscape Painter'' (1929).
Background and education
Conway was born at
Rochester, England, on 12 April 1856, the son of Reverend William Conway, who later became
rector of
St. Margaret's, Westminster
The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...
.
He was the youngest of three children having two older sisters, Elizabeth Ann (1852-1916) and Martha (1854-1938).
[ He was educated at ]Repton
Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 Census was 2,707, increasing to ...
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford ...
, where he studied mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and became a close friend of Karl Pearson
Karl Pearson (; born Carl Pearson; 27 March 1857 – 27 April 1936) was an English mathematician and biostatistician. He has been credited with establishing the discipline of mathematical statistics. He founded the world's first university st ...
. He became interested in woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s, engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an i ...
and early printed books; his ''History of the Woodcutters of the Netherlands in the Fifteenth Century'' was published in 1884.
Mountaineering
Conway was a member of the Alpine Club
The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as:
:"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of wh ...
, of which he was president from 1902 to 1904.
In 1892, in the course of an exploring and mountaineering expedition undertaken under the auspices of the Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
and the British Association
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
, he made an ascent of a subsidiary summit of Baltoro Kangri, claiming a world altitude record with a height of 23,000 ft (7,010 m). However, subsequent measurements have revised his height to 22,322 ft (6,804 m). In 1896–97 he explored the interior of Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern No ...
, and the following year he explored and surveyed the Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
n Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...
, climbing "Sorata" (known today as Ancohuma, 21,086 ft / 6,427 m) and Illimani
Illimani (Aymara) is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real (part of the Cordillera Oriental, a subrange of the Andes) of western Bolivia. It lies near the cities of El Alto and La Paz at the eastern edge of the Altiplano. It is the seco ...
(21,122 ft / 6,438 m). He also attempted Aconcagua
Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summ ...
(22,831 ft / 6,959 m) stopping short of the summit by 50-ft and explored Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...
making an attempt on Sarmiento. At the Paris exhibition of 1900 he received the gold medal for mountain surveys, and the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
in 1905.
He served as President of the Alpine Club
The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as:
:"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of wh ...
for 1902–04 and became the first president of The Alpine Ski Club at its inaugural meeting in 1908.
In 1924, Conway evaluated evidence from the 1924 British Mountaineering Expedition and believed George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s.
Born in Cheshire, Mallory became a student at Wincheste ...
and Andrew Irvine had climbed Mt. Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
.
Academic career
From 1884 to 1887 Conway was Professor of Art at University College, Liverpool; and from 1901 to 1904 he was Slade Professor of Fine Art
The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London.
History
The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collecto ...
at Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. He was knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
ed in 1895 for his efforts in mapping 5,180 square km of the Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under t ...
Range in the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over list ...
three years earlier.
In 1889 he published a book concerning his research on Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
. He was assisted in this by the polymath Lina Eckenstein who was the sister of a fellow mountaineer.
Conway was the first Director-General of the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and militar ...
and a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery from 1922 to 1937. His photograph collection formed the basis of the Conway Library at the Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist col ...
in London. He was also responsible for the restoration of Allington Castle
Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal co ...
.
Political career
Conway had been involved in politics for some time, consorting with both major parties allegedly in pursuit of a knighthood and a barony; he received both. He was mentioned as a possible Liberal candidate for Wolverhampton South in early 1900, but withdrew his candidature 'owing to domestic circumstances'. He was elected Unionist Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for the Combined English Universities in 1918, serving until 1931, when he was raised to the peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks.
Peerages include:
Australia
* Australian peers
Belgium
* Belgi ...
as Baron Conway of Allington, of Allington in the County of Kent, in the Dissolution Honours.
He died in London on 19 April 1937. The title became extinct on his death.
Works
Scholarly works
* ''History of the Woodcutters of the Netherlands in the Fifteenth Century'', 1884
''Early Flemish Artists''
1887
* ''The Literary Remains of Albrecht Dürer'', 1889
* ''The Dawn of Art in the Ancient World'', 1891, dealing with Chaldean, Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It ...
n and Egyptian art
''Early Tuscan Art''
1902
* ''The Crowd in Peace and War'', 1915
* ''Art Treasures of Soviet Russia'', 1925
* ''Giorgione as a Landscape Painter'', 1929
Mountaineering and travel works
''Climbing and Exploration in the Karakoram-Himalayas''
1894
* ''The Alps from End to End'', 1895
* ''The First Crossing of Spitsbergen'', 1897
''The Bolivian Andes''
1901
* ''Aconcagua and Tierra Del Fuego: A Book of Climbing, Travel and Exploration'', 1902
* ''Early Dutch and English Voyages to Spitsbergen in the Seventeenth Century'', 1904
* ''No Man's Land, a History of Spitsbergen from its discovery in 1596 to the beginning of the Scientific Exploration of the Country'', 1906
* ''Mountain Memories'', 1920
* "Palestine and Morocco", 1923
Autobiography
* ''Episodes in a Varied Life'', 1932
* ''The Sport of Collecting'', 1914
References
External links
William Martin Conway and Egyptian Excavations
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Martin
1856 births
1937 deaths
English mountain climbers
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the Combined English Universities
Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK)
Conway of Allington, William Conway, 1st Baron
Conway of Allington, William Conway, 1st Baron
UK MPs 1918–1922
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs 1924–1929
UK MPs 1929–1931
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Directors of the Imperial War Museum
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Knights Bachelor
People from Allington, Kent
Barons created by George V