Sir Hugh Thomas Munro, 4th Baronet (16 October 1856 – 19 March 1919), was a British

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 ...

best known for his list of mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914.4 m), known as

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...

s. Born in London, Munro was the fifth child of Sir Campbell Munro, 3rd

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, and also a grandson of

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet of Lindertis.

Biography

Munro was born on 16 October 1856 in London, but was brought up in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

on the family estate of Lindertis near

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'' ( gd, An Ceathramh Mòr; IPA: nˈkʰʲɛɾəvmoːɾ, is a burgh in Angus, Scotland. It reaches back to earliest recorded times, when it is thought to have been a major ecclesiastical ...

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * Angu ...

.''"Failed by 11ft: the mountain that couldn't measure up to the name of Munro"''
, The Independent, 9 June 2007, returived 9 June 2007. He was an avid hillwalker, and was a founder member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club in 1889. His list of 3,000-foot mountains 1891 was published in the 6th issue of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in 1891.''"Making mountains, producing narratives, or: 'One day some poor sod will write their Ph.D. on this'"''
, Anthropology Matters Journal 2006, vol. 8 (2), retrieved 9 June 2007. This list caused much surprise in mountaineering circles, as until his list was produced many thought that the number of mountains exceeding this height was around 30, rather than the nearly 300 that he listed. These mountains are now known as

s and it is a popular hobby to attempt to climb them all. Hugh Munro never completed his own list. Of his original list he failed to climb one mountain in the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 ...

(Carn Cloich-Mhuillin),''"The spirit of Sir Hugh Munro walks with us still"''
The Scotsman, 11 November 2006, retrieved 9 June 2007. which he was saving to be his last. At the time of his death he had produced a revised version of the list, adding Carn an Fhidhleir, which he had also yet to climb. Sir Hugh is often said to have missed out the Inaccessible Pinnacle (An Stac) of

Sgùrr Dearg Sgùrr Dearg () is a mountain in the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is topped by the Inaccessible Pinnacle (or An Stac in Gaelic), a fin of rock measuring 50 metres (150 feet) along its longest edge. The top of the Pinnacle stands ...

, on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

, a peak which there is no record of his having climbed. However, the "In Pinn" was not included in either of the lists produced during his lifetime, despite being several feet higher than Sgurr Dearg, which was included. The first person to achieve the feat of climbing all of the mountains on Munro's list is generally regarded as being the Rev. A. E. Robertson in 1901. However Robertson is known not to have climbed all of the peaks either, as he did not climb The Inaccessible Pinnacle or reach the summit of Ben Wyvis. In addition to his mountaineering interests, Munro was well travelled and made trips to Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. He was too old at 58 for military service during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

but did volunteer work with the Red Cross and cared for injured soldiers in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1915. After a spell of illness, he rejoined the Red Cross, running a canteen for Allied forces near the front line in France. He died on 19 March 1919 in

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tara ...

aged 63, during the post-war influenza pandemic. He is buried on the family estate of Lindertis near

References

External links

Sir Hugh Thomas Munro Info & Photographs

Sir Hugh Munro: Celebrating the man in the mountains
''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...

'' (March 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Hugh 1856 births 1919 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People from Angus, Scotland Scottish mountain climbers Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in the United Kingdom

Biography

See also

References

External links