George Ingle Finch (4 August 1888 – 22 November 1970) was an Australian chemist and mountaineer. He was the first person known to climb to a height exceeding 8,000 metres. His obituary in The Times describes him as "one of the two best alpinists of his time" (with

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 Winche ...

Education and military service

He was born in Australia to Charles Edward and Laura Isabel (nee Black) Finch, educated in German-speaking Switzerland, and studied physical sciences at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

. He began studying medicine in Paris (where he scaled the walls of Notre Dame with his brother) but decided he preferred the physical sciences. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served with the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

. He was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

for services in connection with the War in France, Egypt and Salonika. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he investigated fire defence.

Career

A member of the second British expedition under General

Charles Granville Bruce Brigadier-General The Honourable Charles Granville Bruce, CB, MVO (7 April 1866 – 12 July 1939) was a veteran Himalayan mountaineer and leader of the second and third British expeditions to Mount Everest in 1922 and 1924. In recognition of t ...

Mount 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 hei ...

, on 23 May 1922 Finch and Captain Geoffrey Bruce reached an elevation of 27,300 feet (8,321 m) on the north ridge before retreating. Finch fell out with the Everest Committee after 1922, but his pioneering work on oxygen, which he pursued with messianic zeal, remained crucial to future expeditions. In the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, Finch was on the

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they ...

of the North Face Diagonal or "Finch Route" on the

Dent d'Hérens The Dent d'Hérens (4,174 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The mountain lies a few kilometres west of the Matterhorn. The Aosta hut (2,781 m) is used for the normal route. Naming The mou ...

, which he climbed with T. G. B. Forster and R. Peto on 2 August 1923. Finch was also a keen skier and was a founding member of the

Alpine Ski Club The Alpine Ski Club (ASC) is a club of ski mountaineers based in the UK and the first ski mountaineering club in Great Britain. Membership is open to experienced independent ski-mountaineers who fulfil the minimum entry qualification. Aspirant me ...

in 1908. He was a lifelong advocate and supporter of the Alpine Club and would later become its president. Between 1936 and 1952 he held the position of Professor of Applied Physical Chemistry at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1938. His candidacy citation read: Finch was awarded their

Hughes Medal The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded wit ...

in 1944. He was president of the Physical Society from 1947 to 1949.

Personal life

Finch was first married to Alicia "Betty" Fisher, from London. By the time he returned from the front in 1917, she had given birth to a son from a relationship with another man, Wentworth "Jock" Campbell, an Indian Army officer. That boy was the future Oscar-winning film actor

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

. George separated the infant from his mother, and had his relatives raise him as his own son, even though he was not the biological father. Peter did not see his parents again until he returned to Britain and found fame in his thirties. He remained close to his mother and met both George Finch and his biological father briefly. George divorced Betty when Peter was two years old, and married Gladys May, a nurse, after she became pregnant with their son Bryan. George left Gladys and the boy soon after the birth, but supported Bryan financially.Robert Wainwright
George Finch: Everest's Australian pioneer
''The Australian'', 23 May 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, George 1888 births 1970 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Australian mountain climbers Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK) 20th-century explorers Presidents of the Physical Society Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British chemists English chemists Australian emigrants to England British mountain climbers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers Military personnel from New South Wales