Douglas Laird Busk (1906–1990) was a British diplomat, mountaineer and geographer.

Personal life

Busk was born on 15 July 1906 and educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, also spending some time at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. He married Bridget Hemsley Thompson in 1937, and they had two daughters. She was an artist and her line drawings illustrate his 1957 book ''The Fountain of the Sun ''. He died on 11 December 1990, aged 84, at

Chilbolton Chilbolton is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, near to Stockbridge. It is situated north of Southampton and south of Andover. Its most notable feature is the Chilbolton Observatory situated on the disused RAF Chilbolton airf ...

Diplomatic career

Baird joined the diplomatic service in 1927 and served in countries including Iran, Hungary, Japan, Turkey and Iraq. He served as Britain's ambassador to Ethiopia (1952–1956), Finland (1958–1960) and Venezuela (1961–1964).

Mountaineering

Baird was a notable mountaineer, gaining membership 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 which ...

while an undergraduate, after making the first winter ascent of the north face of

Pic du Midi d'Ossau The Pic du Midi d'Ossau (2,884 m) is a mountain rising above the Ossau Valley in the France, French Pyrenees. Despite possessing neither a glacier nor, in the context of the range, a particularly high summit, its distinctive shape makes it a sy ...

. His obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' said that his "greatest contribution" was his work as chairman of the library of the Alpine Club, culminating in the production of a 600-page catalogue and the 1981 exhibition "The Treasures of the Alpine Club".

Recognition

Baird was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in the

1959 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1959 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. The

Royal Geographical Society 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 ...

, of which he was honorary vice-president, awards an annual

Busk Medal The Busk Medal is an award given annually by the Royal Geographical Society, for "conservation research or for fieldwork abroad in geography or in a geographical aspect of an allied science". It was first awarded in 1975, and is named in honour ...

named in his honour.

References

1906 births 1990 deaths British geographers British mountain climbers Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ethiopia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Finland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Venezuela People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford {{climbing-bio-stub