George Ingle Finch

author

George Ingle Finch

1888–1970

An Australian chemist and pioneering mountaineer, he helped push high-altitude climbing into a new era. He is especially remembered for his bold 1922 Everest expedition, where his use of supplemental oxygen was far ahead of its time.

1 Audiobook

The making of a mountaineer

The making of a mountaineer

by George Ingle Finch

About the author

Born in 1888 in Australia and educated in Europe, George Ingle Finch built an unusual career that joined science and adventure. He became a physical chemist and later a professor at Imperial College London, while also earning a reputation as one of the great climbers of his generation.

Finch is best known for the 1922 British Mount Everest expedition. During that attempt, he and Geoffrey Bruce climbed to a record height of over 8,000 metres, proving that oxygen equipment could make a real difference at extreme altitude. His ideas were controversial at the time, but they helped shape the future of Himalayan mountaineering.

Alongside his climbing life, Finch continued his scientific work and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He died in 1970, leaving a legacy in both chemistry and alpinism, and he is still remembered as a brilliant, original figure in each field.