Douglas Robert Hadow (30 May 1846 – 14 July 1865) was a British novice

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

who died on the descent after the

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

Family

Hadow was born in 1846 at 49 York Terrace,

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, London, the son of Patrick Douglas Hadow (Chairman of the P. & O. Steam Navigation Company) and Emma Harriett Nisbet (daughter of Robert Parry Nisbet, of Southbroom House,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

), who married at Southbroom on 28 January 1845. Hadow's paternal great-grandfather was George Hadow, professor of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Oriental Languages A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Tur ...

at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, and one of his younger brothers was

Frank Hadow Patrick Francis "Frank" Hadow (2 January 1855 – 29 June 1946) was an English tennis player, who won the Wimbledon championship in 1878. Personal life Born 2 January 1855 Regent's Park, his father was Patrick Douglas Hadow who was educated at ...

, who won the

Wimbledon championship The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

in 1878. Hadow was educated at Harrow School, where he and six of his brothers who also attended the school were known as the 'Harrow Hadows'.

First season in the Alps

In 1865, at the age of nineteen, Hadow undertook his first trip to the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

as a protégé to Charles Hudson, a clergyman from

Skillington Skillington is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 census was 314. It is situated west from the A1 road, south from Grantham, and is within of the ...

in Lincolnshire, and a leading advocate of guideless climbing. Together they made a swift ascent of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

and other climbs; these ascents – together with the backing of a climber of Hudson's stature – persuaded

Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...

that Hadow was a suitable companion for an attempt on the

. Whymper later wrote: In 'A Modern View of the 1865 Accident', the

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whi ...

president Capt. J. P. Farrar (1917–19) concurred with this positive estimation of Hadow's ability:

Matterhorn accident

During the first ascent of the Matterhorn on 14 July 1865, Hadow was, however, challenged by the technical difficulties presented by the mountain. Whymper noticed his inexperience after the party had traversed onto what he termed the 'north-west face' whilst ascending the mountain. In a piece published by ''

The Times ''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'' (f ...

'' shortly after the accident, he wrote: Hadow's slip on the descent of the mountain was the immediate cause of the accident. He was the second on the rope as the party went down and he slipped not far from the summit, dragging three members of the party (

Lord Francis Douglas Lord Francis William Bouverie Douglas (8 February 1847 – 14 July 1865) was a novice British mountaineering, mountaineer. After sharing in the first ascent of the Matterhorn, he died in a fall on the way down from the summit. Early life Born ...

Michel Croz Michel Auguste Croz (22 April 1830 in Le Tour, Chamonix valley – 14 July 1865, on the Matterhorn) was a French mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains in the western Alps during the golden age of alpinism. He is chiefly reme ...

and Charles Hudson) with him down the north face of the mountain to their deaths (the three other members of the party – Whymper and Taugwalder father and son – were saved when the rope between them and Douglas snapped). Claire Engel comments: Hadow's body was recovered from the Matterhorn Glacier, and he was buried at the churchyard in

Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) ...

. One of Hadow's shoes can be seen in Zermatt's Matterhorn Museum, together with the snapped rope and other relics of the climb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadow, Douglas Robert 1846 births 1865 deaths British mountain climbers People educated at Harrow School Mountaineering deaths Sport deaths in Switzerland