George Everest (1790 - 1866) was a welsh military engineer and geodesist who worked on the trigonometrical survey of India (1818-43), providing the accurate mapping of the subcontinent.
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| By William Tayler (National Portrait Gallery) |
For more than twenty-five years and despite numerous hardships, he surveyed the longest arc of the meridian ever accomplished at the time, from the southernmost point of India north to Nepal, a distance of about 2,400 kilometres. Everest was relentless in his pursuit of accuracy.
He made countless adaptations to the surveying equipment, methods, and mathematics in order to minimize problems specific to the Great Survey: immense size and scope, the terrain, weather conditions, and the desired accuracy.
Mount Everest, formerly called Peak B and Peak XV by the British and possibly "Deva-dhunga" or "Gaurisankar" by native Indian or Nepalese , was renamed in his honour in 1865.
A good read is "The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India Was Mapped and Everest Was Named", by John Keay
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