Henriette d'Angeville
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Henriette d'Angeville (10 March 1794 in
Semur-en-Brionnais Semur-en-Brionnais () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Sights * The oldest castle in Burgundy, Château Saint Hugues, dating from 9th century. * The collegiale Saint Hi ...
– 13 January 1871 in
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
) was the second woman to climb
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 ...
.


Biography

Henriette d'Angeville was a descendant of a French aristocratic family. After the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, her father was imprisoned and her grandfather executed,Brown 13-25. and the family moved to
Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon and Geneva. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the department. It includes the foothills of the ...
in the
Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône ...
region. After her father's death, in 1827, she settled in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
.Mazel 4-5. An avid walker, for a long time she longed to climb Mont Blanc and finally did so in 1838, becoming the first woman since
Maria Paradis Marie Paradis (1778 – 1839) was the first woman to climb Mont Blanc. Paradis was a poor maidservant who lived in Chamonix at that time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 14 July 1808, in the company of renowned mountain guide Jacques Balmat, s ...
in 1808 to climb Europe's highest mountain. D'Angeville continued to climb for twenty-five years, scaling twenty-one more peaks, as well as again summiting Mont Blanc. Her last Alpine ascent was on Oldenhorn, at age 65. In her later years she also became interested in
speleology Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form ( speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology) ...
and founded a museum of mineralogy in Lausanne, where she died.


Mont Blanc expedition

D'Angeville set off for Mont Blanc in 1838, in the company of Joseph-Marie Couttet, five other guides, and six porters. A suggestion had been made by the guides to join with two all-male groups, but d'Angeville declined. Her arrival in
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 ...
created quite a stir; crowds cheered her on her way to the mountain. She received a social call at the
Grand Mulets Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
, at 10,000 feet, from a Polish nobleman (who sent his card to her tent), and an English group joined them as well. D'Angeville's party left for the summit on 4 September 1838 at 2 AM. Along the way d'Angeville proved herself strong and agile enough;Brown 26-28. particularly on rock she climbed as well as the men, though she did suffer from heart palpitations and drowsiness. The party reached the top of the mountain at 1:15 PM. Toasts were made with champagne, doves were released from the summit to announce their success, and d'Angeville was hoisted on the men's shoulders and cheered. A cannon salute welcomed them on their return to Chamonix. The celebrations the next day also included a special guest, at d'Angeville's request, the now sixty-year-old
Maria Paradis Marie Paradis (1778 – 1839) was the first woman to climb Mont Blanc. Paradis was a poor maidservant who lived in Chamonix at that time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 14 July 1808, in the company of renowned mountain guide Jacques Balmat, s ...
. Also present in Chamonix during that time, though he left the day before d'Angeville's successful climb, was a young, poor, and hopeful author and mountaineer
Albert Richard Smith Albert Richard Smith (24 May 181623 May 1860) was an English author, entertainer, and mountaineer. Biography Literary career Smith was born at Chertsey, Surrey. The son of a surgeon, he studied medicine in London and in Paris, and his first ...
. Smith had tried to attach himself to an expedition but would not climb the mountain until 1851, after which he turned his experience into a theatrical show; he notes d'Angeville's expedition (and the "Polish gentleman ic) in his "Ascent of Mont Blanc."


Recognition

Since Paradis, according to her own account, was partly carried up by her guides, d'Angeville is often referred to as the first woman to reach Mont Blanc's summit with her own strength. A street is named for Henriette d'Angeville in
Hauteville-Lompnès Hauteville-Lompnes () is a former commune in the Ain department in eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune of Plateau d'Hauteville. History The commune was formed in 1942 by the union of Hauteville and Lompnes. I ...
, near the Angeville castle, acquired by the Angeville family in 1657 and inhabited by Henriette's brother. She is mentioned by Harriet Beecher Stowe in her travel memoir ''Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands''; Stowe had toured extensively through the Alps and had met both Maria Paradis (whom she calls "Marie de Mont Blanc") and d'Angeville, in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
.Stowe 237.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angeville, Henriette d 1794 births 1871 deaths French mountain climbers Female climbers Sportspeople from Saône-et-Loire