Francis Fox Tuckett
FRGS
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
(10 February 1834 – 20 June 1913)
[D.W.F., 'Obituary: Francis Fox Tuckett' in '']The Geographical Journal
''The Geographical Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). It publishes papers covering research on all aspects of geography. It also publishes shorter C ...
'', Vol. 42, No. 2 (August 1913), pp. 206–207 was an English
mountaineer. He was vice-president of 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 whic ...
from 1866 to 1868, and a
Fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society.
[Index to 'Proceedings of the Clifton Antiquarian Club']
at cliftonantiquarian.co.uk, accessed 11 July 2008
Life and family
Tuckett was born in 1834 at the Old House,
Frenchay Common, near
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, the eldest child of Francis and Mariana Tuckett.
[Francis Fox Tuckett]
at frenchaymuseumarchives.co.uk, accessed 8 July 2008
His father, Francis Tuckett of Frenchay (1802–1868), was a world traveller as well as a leather merchant, horticulturalist, social reformer, philanthropist and
Quaker. Himself the son of Philip Debell Tuckett (1749–1816), Francis Tuckett married Mariana Fox (1807–1863), a daughter of
Robert Were Fox the Elder (1754–1818) and a member of the notable Fox family of Falmouth, on 29 March 1833.
[Mariana Tuckett]
at frenchaymuseumarchives.co.uk, accessed 11 July 2008 Francis Tuckett was in
Naples when he died in 1868.
Tuckett's grandfather
Robert Were Fox the Elder was a Quaker ship broker and business man in
Cornwall, while his uncle
Robert Were Fox the Younger
Robert Were Fox FRS (26 April 1789 – 25 July 1877) was a British geologist, natural philosopher and inventor. He is known mainly for his work on the temperature of the earth and his construction of a compass to measure magnetic dip at sea.
...
(1789–1877) was a geologist and
natural philosopher who became a
Fellow of the Royal Society.
Francis Fox Tuckett was the eldest of five children, and his parents' only son. His eldest sister Elizabeth Fox Tuckett, born in 1835, died young, and his other sisters were a second Elizabeth Fox (1837), followed by Mariana Fox (1839) and Charlotte Fox (1842).
[
Tuckett entered his father's business as a leather factor and was also a gentleman farmer all of his life, taking two to three months off each year for alpine exploration. In 1882, his business, under the name of 'Tuckett and Rake', was at 18 & 20, Victoria Street, Bristol, and was described as 'Leather, Valonia, and Raw Hide factors'.
On 17 January 1896, at the age of 62, Tuckett married Alice Fox while he was in New Zealand.][
He died in 1913 at his birthplace, the Old House, Frenchay Common, and was buried at the Friends' Meeting House in Frenchay.][
]
Alpinism
Tuckett was one of the main figures of the Golden age of alpinism, making the ascent of 269 peaks and the crossing of 687 passes. In ''Scrambles amongst the Alps'' Edward Whymper called Tuckett "that mighty mountaineer, whose name is known throughout the length and breadth of the Alps". Geoffrey Winthrop Young
Geoffrey Winthrop Young (25 October 1876 – 8 September 1958) was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering.
Young was born in Kensington, the middle son of Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet (see ...
called Tuckett's approach to climbing "encyclopaedic".
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, Sw ...
was in 1842 in the company of his father. They went to Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
and he explored the Mer de Glace.
On 18 June 1859 he made the first ascent of the Aletschhorn
The Aletschhorn () is a mountain in the Alps in Switzerland, lying within the Jungfrau-Aletsch region, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The mountain shares part of its name with the Aletsch Glacier lying at its foot ...
in the Swiss Alps
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swis ...
together with the guides Johann Joseph Bennen, Peter Bohren and V. Tairraz. Here he showed his passion for scientific observation, making barometric calculations during the climb and on the summit in the teeth of a strong gale. Of the scene at the summit he wrote:
In 1861, Tuckett tested a prototype Alpine sleeping bag. Within a few years he had perfected a bag design which consisted of blanket material with rubber-coated fabric on the underside.
He pioneered exploration within the Dauphiné Alps in the French Alps, in 1862 making the first crossings of the col des Ecrins, the col du Sélé and the col du Glacier Blanc in the Massif des Écrins with the guides Michel Croz, Peter Perren and Bartolommeo Peyrotte. He also made an attempt, with the same party, on the highest mountain in the range, the unclimbed Barre des Ecrins
Barre or Barré may refer to:
* Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name
Places United States
* Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town
** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town
* Barre, New York, a town
* Barre ( ...
. In Tuckett's own words:
According to Whymper, Tuckett "halted before the Pointe des Ecrins s the Barre was then called and, dismayed by its appearance, withdrew his forces to gather less dangerous laurels elsewhere". The expedition did have the benefit, however, of " hrowingsome light on the Ecrins".
Tuckett was also one of the first alpinists to explore the Dolomites
The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...
in Italy; in 1865, together with Douglas William Freshfield
Douglas William Freshfield (27 April 1845 – 9 February 1934) was a British lawyer, mountaineer and author, who edited the '' Alpine Journal ''from 1872 to 1880. He was an active member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club and ...
, he traversed the Pale di San Martino group in eastern Trentino, crossing the San Martino Dolomites for the first time, a feat which astonished the mountaineering world as they had no maps and little equipment, relying on skill and intuition. In Trentino, the names of Tuckett, Freshfield, John Ball, and Edward Robson Whitwell are remembered as the pioneers who put the Dolomites on the map.[The British Mountaineering Tradition in Trentino]
at italtourism.com, accessed 8 July 2008 In 1871, in the Brenta Dolomites, Tuckett, with Freshfield and guide Devouassou climbed the Cima Brenta (3,150 m) via the Vedretta di Brenta Superiore on the west side; at the time this peak was thought to be the highest summit in the range. The Rifugio Tuckett above Madonna di Campiglio
Madonna di Campiglio (german: Sankt Maria im Pein) is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an elevation of above sea level, and has approximatel ...
, situated at an altitude of 2,272 metres in the Brenta Dolomites, is named after him, as is the ''Bocca del Tuckett'' (2,648 m), a pass between two steep, rocky peaks that may be seen from the hut.
In the Bernina Range in Italy and Switzerland, Tuckett and E. N. Buxton made the first crossing of the ''Fuorcla dal Zupò'', the "fairly difficult" pass between Piz Zupò
Piz Zupò (3,996 m) is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It lies between the valleys of Morteratsch (Graubünden) and Malenco (Lombardy). Piz Zupò is the second highest peak in th ...
and Piz Argient
Piz Argient (3,945 m) is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps on the border between Italy and the Swiss canton of Graubünden.
The peak is bounded to the north by the Morteratsch Glacier, to the west by the Upper Scerscen Glacier, and ...
, together with guides Peter Jenny, Christian Michel and Franz Biner on 28 July 1864; on the same day, with the same party, he made the first crossing of the Fuorcla Crast' Agüzza. In the same range Tuckett and F. A. Y. Brown made the first ascent of the south ridge (or ''Spallagrat'') of Piz Bernina together with guides Christian Almer
220px, Christian Almer
Christian Almer (29 March 1826 – 17 May 1898) was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many prominent mountains in the western Alps during the golden and silver ages of alpinism. Almer was born and died ...
and Franz Andermatten on 23 June 1866. This is today the normal route up the mountain.
His sister Charlotte wrote that "He kept himself in good training for his beloved pursuit of mountaineering by his daily walks to and from Bristol, five miles each way. He used to get home for six and for more years than I can say, the institution existed of an apple tart served with his tea".[
Another sister, Elizabeth, who was a traveller, writer and artist in her own right, illustrated her ''Alpine Journal'' with sketches. One is of 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 ...
of the Cimon della Pala
Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites (''il Cervino delle Dolomiti''), is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy. Although it is not the highest peak of the ...
by Edward Robson Whitwell in 1870.[
]
Collector and antiquarian
A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society[ and a member of the ]British Association for the Advancement of Science
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
, on his travels Tuckett built up a collection of objects which by 1917 had been donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford.
As a member of the Clifton Antiquarian Club, Tuckett published antiquarian papers in its Proceedings, including ''Notes of ancient Norwegian wooden churches'' (1888) and ''Notes on ancient Egyptian methods of hewing, dressing, sculpturing and polishing stone'' (1889).
Author
Tuckett's ''A Pioneer in the High Alps: Alpine Diaries and Letters of F. F. Tuckett, 1856–1874'' was published posthumously in 1920.
Honours
* Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 1865, appointed by King Victor Emmanuel II
en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas
, house = Savoy
, father = Charles Albert of Sardinia
, mother = Maria Theresa of Austria
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, image_size = 252px
, succession1 ...
of Italy for geographical and scientific work in the Italian 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 ...
[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuckett, Francis Fox
1834 births
1913 deaths
English mountain climbers
English Quakers
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus