Sir David Kim Hempleman-Adams, (born 10 October 1956) is a British industrialist and adventurer. He is the first person to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam, by reaching the Geographic and Magnetic North and South Poles, as well as climbing the highest peaks in all seven continents, the first person to fly to the North Pole in a balloon, and the first person to make a balloon crossing of the Atlantic in an open basket. Everestblessings

Early life

David Hempleman was born in Moredon,

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

on 10 October 1956. Following his parents' divorce, he moved with his mother to Stoney Littleton near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, and, when she remarried, took his stepfather's surname, Adams. He took part in

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

scheme at school, then pursued business studies at college in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and at Bristol Polytechnic. At the same time, he started climbing with fellow student Steven Vincent.

Expeditions

In January 2007, Hempleman-Adams broke the quarter-century old world small sized hot air balloon altitude record, by ascending to 9,906 meters over

Alberta, Canada Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, beating the previous record of 9,537 metres set by Carol Davis in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. In September 2009, he broke the endurance record for a flight using the smallest man-carrying helium balloon. He flew 200 miles from

Butler, Missouri Butler is a city and the county seat of Bates County, Missouri, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 4,220 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city is named for William Orlando Butler ...

, to Cherokee, Oklahoma, in 14 hours and 15 minutes using the class AA-01 balloon. The previous record was an eight hours and 12 minutes flight undertaken by American Coy Foster in March 1983. On 10 October 2008, Hempleman-Adams, along with co-pilot Jon Mason won the 52nd Gordon Bennett Cup, having flown a helium balloon from

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

and landing over 1000 miles away near

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. They are the first British team to win the prize in 102 years. In September 2010, he competed in the Gordon Bennett 2010 balloon race when it was held in the UK for the first time.

Personal and family life

He lives in Wiltshire with his partner Ros Smith and has three daughters from his previous marriage. In April 2008 his middle daughter, Camilla, at the age of 15, became the youngest person to ski the last degree to the North Pole. In March 2025 Camilla did a solo traverse of the Auyuittuq National Park of Baffin Island in Canada. . In December 2011 his youngest daughter, Amelia, at the age of 16 became the youngest person to ski to the South Pole, having completed Shackleton's last 98 nautical miles. In 2021 she competed at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

Social and charitable work

He retired as a Trustee of

St John Ambulance St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primari ...

in 2021, having been involved with the charity for 26 years and having held senior positions since 1999. In 2002 he raised money to buy ambulances for St John through a series of lectures. In 2019 he sailed from Plymouth, England, to New York, to promote the work of St John and to encourage young people to try something new. In 2023 he agreed to take on a newly created senior volunteer role for St John International (SJI) as an ambassador leading its newly created Special Projects group. In this role he has been instrumental in leading St John International through the development of its new fundraising strategy. In summer 2016, Hempleman-Adams completed the Polar Ocean Challenge, an historic attempt to be the first British sailing yacht to sail around the Arctic Ocean in one summer season, circumnavigating the North Pole and sailing through the Northeast and Northwest Passages. This expedition was undertaken to increase awareness of climate change and loss of ice in the Arctic Ocean. In October 2004, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Wiltshire. He was appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 2016–17.

Honours and awards

In 2013 he was awarded the Polar Medal and bar by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

for services to the UK in the field of polar research. He was appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the 1995 Birthday Honours and advanced to Officer of the same order (OBE) in the 1998 Birthday Honours, both for services to Arctic exploration. He was appointed Lieutenant of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(LVO) in the 2007 New Year Honours and advanced to Knight Commander of the same order (KCVO) in the 2017 New Year Honours, both in recognition of his service to The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. In 2016 he was made a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ) and advanced to Bailiff Grand Cross of the same order (GCStJ) in 2025. In 2000, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

. He became a Freeman of the City of London in 2008.

References

External links

Wicked Weather WatchYouth Adventure Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hempleman-Adams, David 1956 births English explorers English polar explorers Harmon Trophy winners British explorers of the Arctic Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Living people People from Swindon Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John Britannia Trophy winners Flight altitude record holders British summiters of Mount Everest High sheriffs of Wiltshire Balloon flight record holders British aviation record holders Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Recipients of the Polar Medal