Gertrude Benham

Gertrude Emily Benham (July 1867– February 1938) was an English explorer and mountaineer.[1] Born in London, she was the youngest of six children and began climbing mountains as a girl. She went on to climb mountains on almost every continent. Benham was also an intrepid hiker and walked from Valparaiso, Chile, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. She went on to hike across Kenya, and traverse Africa on foot.

As she traveled, she also drew, and her drawings were later used in mapping the countries she explored. Benham always traveled alone or with native guides, spending less than 250 British pounds a year. In 1916, she was named a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. Throughout her life, she climbed more than 300 mountains.[2]

Truda Peaks, one of the summits of Mount Rogers in Glacier National Park, in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, is named in her honour.[3] Her climbing boots are on display in the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery. [2]

Death

Gertrude died in 1938 on board a ship bound from Africa to England.[4]

References
  1. Duncan, Joyce (2002). Ahead of their time a biographical dictionary of risk-taking women. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
  2. "Overlooked No More: Gertrude Benham, Who Climbed the World One Mountain at a Time". The New York Times. 2019-07-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  3. Lem, Val Ken (October 15, 2004). "Women Explorers: One Hundred Years of Courage and Audacity. (Amazing Stories)". CM: Canadian Review of Materials. The Manitoba Library Association. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  4. 'Miss G. E. Benham', The Times, December 16, 1938, p.18.

Further reading
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