William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge (August 28, 1850 – May 8, 1926) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

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 ...

Life

Coolidge was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

as the son of Frederic William Skinner Coolidge, a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

merchant, and Elisabeth Neville Brevoort, sister of

James Carson Brevoort James Carson Brevoort (July 10, 1818 – December 7, 1887) was an American collector of rare books and coins. He served as superintendent of the Astor Library for two years, also serving as trustee. Biography J. Carson Brevoort was born in Blo ...

and

Meta Brevoort Marguerite "Meta" Claudia Brevoort (November 8, 1825 – December 19, 1876) was an American mountain climber. Brevoort was born on November 8, 1825, and spent her early years in a Paris convent school. She made a number of important ascents in t ...

. He studied history and law at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, at

Elizabeth College, Guernsey The Royal College of Elizabeth, better known as Elizabeth College, is a co-educational independent school in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. One of the earliest members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), it is a public school ...

, and at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

. In 1875, he became a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. From 1880 to 1881 he was professor of British history at Saint David's College in

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' ( colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion ...

and in 1883 he became a priest of the

Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

. In 1870 at the age of twenty he was made a member 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 whi ...

. Coolidge was one of the great figures of the so-called

silver age of alpinism The silver age of alpinism is the name given in the United Kingdom to the era in mountaineering that began after Edward Whymper and party's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 and ended with W. W. Graham and party's ascent of the Dent du Géant in ...

, making

first ascents 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 A climbing route is a path by which a climber rea ...

of the few significant peaks in 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 ...

that had not been climbed during the

golden age of alpinism The golden age of alpinism was the decade in mountaineering between Alfred Wills's ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854 and Edward Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, during which many major peaks in the Alps saw their first ascents. Prom ...

. On many of these climbs he was accompanied by his aunt,

, and a pet dog, ''Tschingel'', given to him by one of his guides, Christian Almer. In 1885 he moved to

Grindelwald, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities = Brienz, Brienzwiler, Fieschertal (VS), Guttannen, Innertkirchen, Iseltwald, Lauterbrunnen, Lütschental, Meiringen, Schattenhalb , twintowns = Azumi, now Matsumoto (Japan) Grindelwald is a village and ...

, where he died in 1926.

First ascents in the Alps

Christian Almer, Ulrich Almer, Meta Brevort, William Coolidge vers 1874

Piz Badile Piz Badile (3,308 m) is a mountain of the Bregaglia range in the Swiss canton of Graubünden and the Italian region of Lombardy. The border between the two countries runs along the summit ridge. Its north-east face, overlooking the Swiss Val Bre ...

, 27 July 1867, with

François Devouassoud François Devouassoud (September 1831 – 1905) was a French mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, notably as guide to Douglas William Freshfield, who claimed that Devouassoud "was the first Alpine guide to carry his ice-axe to t ...

and Henri DevouassoudRobin Collomb, ''Bregaglia West'', Goring: West Col Productions, 1988 *

Ailefroide The Ailefroide (3,954 m) is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins in the French Alps, and is the third highest peak in the Dauphiné Alps after the Barre des Écrins and La Meije. It lies at the south-western end of the Mont Pelvoux–Pic Sans No ...

, 7 July 1870, with

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

Ulrich Almer Ulrich Almer was a Switzerland, Swiss mountain guide, born on 8 May 1849 in Grindelwald (Berne), Grindelwald where he died on 4 September 1940. He made many first ascent, premieres in the Alps, at the beginning with his father Christian Almer, one ...

*Central peak of

La Meije La Meije is a mountain in the Massif des Écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère ''départements''. It overlooks the nearby village of La Grave, a mountaineering centre and ski resort, well known for its off-piste ...

, 1870, with Meta Brevoort and three guides *

Unterbächhorn The Unterbächhorn is the highest summit overlooking Belalp in the canton of Valais. It is located in the Bernese Alps, south of the Nesthorn The Nesthorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps. It is located in the Swiss canton of Valais north of ...

, 1872 *First winter ascent of the

Jungfrau The Jungfrau ( "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the Ju ...

, January 1874, with Christian and Ulrich Almer *West summit of

Les Droites Les Droites () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps and is the lowest of the 4000-metre peaks in the Alps. The mountain has two summits: * West summit (3,984 m), first ascent by W. A. B. Coolidge, Christian Almer and Ulrich ...

, 16 July 1876, with Christian and Ulrich Almer * Pic Coolidge, July 1877 with Christian and Ulrich Almer *

Les Bans {{Infobox mountain , name = Les Bans , photo = Bans face nord.jpg , photo_caption = North face of Les Bans at the head of the Vénéon valley , elevation_m = 3669 , elevation_ref = , prominence_m = , prominence_ref= , range = Dauphiné ...

, 14 July 1878, with Christian and Ulrich Almer *Southern Peak of the

Aiguilles d'Arves The Aiguilles d’Arves () is a mountain in the Arves massif in the French Alps. The mountain, comprising three separate peaks (in French ''Aiguille''), is the highest point of the massif, and is located in the department of Savoie. Geography ...

, 22 July 1878, with Christian and Ulrich Almer * Monte Matto, 14 July 1879, with Christian and Ulrich Almer *

Aiguille de Chambeyron Aiguille de Chambeyron (3,412m) is a mountain of the Cottian Alps and is the highest mountain of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in southeast France. Together with its neighbour Brec de Chambeyron, it is the dominant peak of the upper Ubaye Valley. The ...

, 1879, with Christian Almer. * Scherbadung, 1886 *

Chüebodenhorn The Chüebodenhorn is a 3,070 metres high mountain in the Lepontine Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Valais and Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton ...

, 1892

Selected publications

* * * * *

References

* Ronald W. Clark: ''An Eccentric in the Alps: The story of W. A. B. Coolidge, the Great Victorian Mountaineer''. Museum Press, London 1959

External links

* * 1850 births 1926 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford American Anglicans American mountain climbers 19th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford People educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey Writers from New York City American Christian theologians Anglican theologians American emigrants to England Christians from New York (state) American emigrants to Switzerland People from Grindelwald {{US-theologian-stub