Robert L. M. Underhill
| Robert Lindley Murray Underhill | |
|---|---|
Robert L. M. Underhill in the Sierra Nevada in 1931.
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| Born |
March 3, 1889, Ossining, New York (then named Sing Sing) |
| Died | May 11, 1983 (aged 94) |
| Known for | Mountaineering |
Robert Lindley Murray Underhill (March 3, 1889 – May 11, 1983) was an American mountaineer best known for introducing modern Alpine style rope and belaying techniques to the U.S. climbing community in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
His father, Abram Sutton Underhill (1852–1942) was an attorney, banker and prominent Quaker. His sister Ruth Murray Underhill (1883–1984) earned her PhD. from Columbia University and was a social worker, anthropologist and author. Robert's long name was based on his maternal grandfather's full name plus his father's surname. He received an A.B. degree from Haverford College in 1909. At that time, Haverford was an elite Quaker college for men. He received a PhD. from Harvard in 1916. He was an instructor in mathematics at Harvard in 1918, and a tutor and then instructor in philosophy at Harvard from 1925 to 1931. During that period, he was an active member of the Harvard Mountaineering Club. He began climbing in the Alps about 1910. His academic life's work was a study of logic.
He was a longtime member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and editor of its journal from 1928 to 1934.
On August 4, 1928 Underhill, accompanied by Miriam O'Brien and guides Armand Charlet and G. Cachat, completed the first ascent of the traverse from the Aiguilles du Diable to Mont Blanc du Tacul in the Alps. This route involves "climbing five outstanding summits over 4000 meters in superb surroundings." On this same trip, Underhill completed guided ascents of the Peuterey and Brenva ridges of Mont Blanc. His climbing partner Miriam O'Brien was later to become his wife, and a famous mountaineer in her own right.
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