Charles Egmond d'Arcis (1887 – 7 December 1971) was a Swiss journalist and alpinist. He was the first president of the

International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA, lit. ''International Union of Alpine Clubs''), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France ...

(UIAA).

Biography

Arcis grew up in Geneva with two brothers, where he attended school and studied. His father was the Englishman Arthur d'Arcis (1853–1921), his mother was Swiss. He spoke fluent Italian, English, German and French. He studied from 1907 to 1913 at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

and was a member of the student society Zofingia. In 1914 he was a teacher at the Higher Commercial School in Geneva. In Geneva he worked for English newspapers including

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

and

The Times of London ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...

and reported on the activities of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

es during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. He was thus acting in an important place and at a crucial time when the League of Nations was putting a lot of energy into maintaining its reputation and image and negotiating its relationship with the press. After the war, Arcis played a leading role in the internationalisation of the media community and in promoting Geneva as an international city. He was a member and in 1934 president of the ''Cercle des Amitiés Internationales CAI'' (International Friendship Circle) and from 1955 to 1956 he served as president of the ''Association de la Presse Etrangère en Suisse et au Liechtenstein'' APES. He was a writer and critic with the

Tribune de Genève The ''Tribune de Genève'' (English: ''Geneva Tribune'') is a Swiss French-language, regional daily newspaper, published in Berliner format by Edipresse in Geneva. History and operations The ''Tribune de Genève'' was first published by Jame ...

. In addition to his journalistic activities, he was, like his father and his two brothers, passionate about the mountains and nature, about which he wrote numerous articles and books. In 1905 he joined the Geneva Section of the

Swiss Alpine Club The Swiss Alpine Club (german: Schweizer Alpen-Club, french: Club Alpin Suisse, it, Club Alpino Svizzero, rm, Club Alpin Svizzer) is the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland. It was founded in 1863 in Olten and it is now composed of 111 s ...

(SAC) and later became its president. He was a member of the ''Valais Association for Natural Sciences'' ("La Murithienne") and the Geneva Geographical Society. In the ''Alpine Centre Zermatt'', founded in 1944, he served as president. From 1932 to 1964, he was

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the newly founded UIAA. Like the League of Nations, the UIAA was deeply rooted in Geneva with its international spirit, which was upheld by contemporary authors such as Robert de Traz and the Swiss government. During the war the UIAA presidency was suspended. In 1964 he became UIAA Honorary Member. He was a member and honorary member of the ''Association of British Members of the Swiss Alpine Club''.The Association of British Members of the Swiss Alpine Club: Journal 1953
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Publications

* with Marcel Raisin: ''La gare... demeure et ne se vend pas : revue en deux actes et trois tableaux, jouée au Banquet d'Escalade de la Société de Zofingue, le 15 décembre 1909''. Imprimerie de la Tribune de Genève, Genf 1909. * Souvenir de l'inauguration de la Britannia Hut le 17 août 1912 Écho des Alpes: organe du Club alpin suisse pour les sections de langue française, 19. Oktober 1912. * ''«

Rule, Britannia! "Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...

». Les Anglais et la Guerre''. Delachaux & Niestlé, Neuchâtel 1916. * with David-Louis Delètra und Emile Thury: ''Les cabanes de la Section genevoise du C.A.S.'', 1924. * ''En Montagne. Récits et Souvenirs''. Editeurs Sonor SA, Genf 1936. * ''Neiges éternelles.'' V. Attinger, Neuchâtel Paris 1945. * with Walter Schmid: ''Au vent des quatre mille: dans les Alpes suisses''. Payot, Lausanne 1953. * ''L'évolution de l'alpinisme. Conquête des Alpes: deux siècles d'art et d'histoire''. Musée d'art et d'histoire, Exposition du 26 février au 20 mars 1955. * with

Edouard Wyss-Dunant Edouard Wyss-Dunant (17 April 1897 – 30 April 1983) was a Swiss physician and alpinist. He had a distinguished career in medicine, both in his own country and abroad. He published a number of treatises in his professional capacity and was the ...

und Otto Hassler: La Section genevoise du Club alpin suisse, 1865–1965 Genève : Club alpin suisse, 1965.

Literature

* Ilaria Scaglia: ''The Emotions of Internationalism. Feeling International Cooperation in the Alps in the Interwar Period.'' University Press, Oxford 2020,
Martin Andreas Lutz: ''Britische Propaganda in der Schweiz während des Zweiten Weltkriegs 1939–1945.''
Dissertation

University of Lucerne The University of Lucerne (UNILU; German: ''Universität Luzern'') is a public university with a campus in Lucerne, Switzerland. 1,460 undergraduates and 1,258 postgraduate students attend the university, which makes it Switzerland's smallest un ...

, Luzern 2019

External links

La Murithienne, Société valaisanne des Sciences Naturelles
In: lamurithienne.ch (französisch)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DArcis, Charles Egmond Swiss mountain climbers Writers from Geneva Swiss non-fiction writers 19th-century births 1971 deaths 20th-century Swiss journalists