Frederick Whymper

Born in London in 1838, Frederick Whymper grew up in an artistic family and trained as an engraver and painter. He was the eldest son of wood-engraver Josiah Wood Whymper and the older brother of Edward Whymper, who later became famous for his mountaineering exploits.

Whymper traveled widely and became known for combining art, exploration, and writing. In the late 1850s and 1860s he worked in British Columbia and on expeditions connected with the search for practical routes and telegraph links across the North Pacific and northwestern North America. Those journeys gave him the material for lively books and illustrations centered on places that were little known to many readers in Britain.

He is best remembered as the author of travel and adventure works such as Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska. His writing is especially appealing for readers who enjoy firsthand accounts, strong descriptive detail, and a sense of discovery shaped by someone who was both an observer and an artist.