Why Is Mount Everest Named After a Person, Unlike Other Himalayan Peaks?
George Everest didn’t want the highest mountain peak to be named after him.
Look at the world’s top ten mountain peaks. Names like Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Yu, Nanga Parbat, Dhaulagiri, and Annapurna will appear.
Only one name stands out: Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world. It is named after George Everest, the first Surveyor General of India.
You’d be forgiven if you think he discovered the mountain based on the name. But this is a popular misconception. Established scholars have also made the error of assuming George Everest named the summit after himself.
Niall Ferguson, a best-selling author, and historian at Stanford is one of them. In his acclaimed book Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, he writes “where Everest gave his name to the world’s highest mountain.”
But, if that’s the case, why aren’t the remaining ones named after the people who discovered them?
The naming of Mount Everest was a case of sycophancy. Col Andrew Waugh, George Everest’s successor, was the guy responsible. Radhanath Sikdar, the man who accurately calculated the height of the mountain, was overlooked, and later discredited, after his death.
