Happy Birthday: January 8, 1859 (1925): Fanny Bullock Workman was an American geographer, cartographer, explorer, travel writer, and mountaineer, notably in the Himalayas. She was one of the first female professional mountaineers; she not only explored but also wrote about her adventures. She achieved several womens altitude records, published eight travel books with her husband, and championed womens rights and womens suffrage. She and her husband, William Hunter Workman traveled extensively, beginning their journeys with bicycle tours of Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Algeria and India. They cycled thousands of miles, sleeping wherever they could find shelter. They wrote books about each trip, with Fanny frequently commenting on the state of womens lives that she saw. Fanny became the first woman to lecture at the Sorbonne and the second to speak at the Royal Geographical Society. She received many medals of honor for European climbing and geographical societies and was recognized as one of the foremost climbers of her day. She demonstrated that a woman could climb in high altitudes just as well as a man and helped break down the gender barrier in mountaineering.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 13:22:02 +0000
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