Whymper, Edward (hwĭm`pər), 1840–1911, English illustrator and mountain climber, b. London. Sent to Switzerland to make sketches of mountain scenery, he became interested in mountaineering and in 1865, after six failures, climbed the hitherto unscaled Matterhorn. The descent ended in a fall that killed four of the party of seven. Whymper made expeditions to Greenland and later to South America, where he participated (1880) in the first ascent of Chimborazo (20,577 ft/6,272 m). He climbed other major Andean peaks, including Aconcagua and Tupungato. His best-known book is Scrambles amongst the Alps (1871, 6th ed. 1936).

Whymper, Edward

(born April 27, 1840, London, Eng.—died Sept. 16, 1911, Chamonix, Fr.) British mountaineer and artist. He became a mountaineer after making sketches for a book on the Alps. In 1865 he made the first ascent of the Matterhorn; an accident on the descent caused the death of four of his companions. His Scrambles Amongst the Alps (1871) and Travels Amongst the Great Andes (1892) describe his experiences and are illustrated with his own engravings.