Herschel Clifford Parker (born

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, 9 July 1867; died 1931) was a United States physicist and mountaineer.

Biography

He graduated from the

Columbia School of Mines The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as th ...

in 1890, receiving a degree of

Ph.B. Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

, and was connected with the faculty there in 1891–1911, filling the chair of physics for some time before his resignation. He wrote ''Systematic Treatise on Electrical Measurements'' (1897), and made many contributions to scientific periodicals. He was a member of the

American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States-based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Instit ...

, the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

, the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

, and the

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Ma ...

. He was a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

and president of the

Vedanta Society of New York Vedanta Society of New York (VSNY) was the first Vedanta Society founded by the Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda in New York in November 1894. In 1897, Swami Abhedananda, another disciple of Ramakrishna, came to the United States and took cha ...

. Parker was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

.''Studies on Food Economics: Vegetarianism''
(1918). ''American Journal of Clinical Medicine'' 25: 59-60.

Mountaineering

Prospecting, surveying, and studying mineralogy and general physics, he made explorations and first ascents in the Canadian Alps in 1897, 1899 and 1903. He participated in first ascents of the mountains Goodsir and Dawson in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and of Hungabee, Deltaform, Biddle and Lefroy in Alberta. He made explorations of the

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...

(Mount McKinley) region in Alaska in 1906, 1910 and 1912. He nearly succeeded in reaching the summit of the highest peak of Denali in 1912. In his 1912 attempt on Denali, he was accompanied by

Belmore Browne Belmore may refer to: People * Bertha Belmore (1882–1953), British stage and film actress * Lionel Belmore (1867–1953), English actor and film director * Rebecca Belmore (born 1960), inter-disciplinary Anishinaabekwe artist Places * Belmo ...

. On an earlier attempt, he was accompanied by

Frederick Cook Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 – August 5, 1940) was an American explorer, physician, and ethnographer who claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. That was nearly a year before Robert Peary, who similarly claime ...

Legacy

* Parker Pass in

Denali National Park Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve e ...

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Herschel Clifford 1867 births 1944 deaths American physicists American explorers Denali Columbia School of Mines alumni Columbia University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science