Francis Younghusband
From Free net encyclopedia
Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (May 31, 1863 – July 31 1942) was a British explorer, remembered chiefly for his exploits in the Far East and his writings on the subject.
Contents |
Life and career
Francis Younghusband was born at Murree in India to a British family (John Younghusband and Clara Shaw). At age 19 he was commissioned into the British Army as an officer in the 1st King's Dragoon Guards. In 1886 he made an expedition into Manchuria, and was responsible for discovering the Mustagh Pass as a route between Kashgar and India. He was elected the youngest member of the Royal Geographic Society at age 24. In 1890 he transferred to the Indian Political Service.
He served as British commissioner to Tibet from 1902-1904. In 1903-1904 he led a military mission to Tibet as a result of disputes over the Sikkim-Tibet border; he controversially invaded the country and occupied Lhasa.
He settled in Kashmir as the British representative 1906-1906 before returning to Britain where he became an active member of many clubs and societies. During World War One his patriotic Fight for Right campaign commissioned the song Jerusalem. He was elected President of the Royal Geographic Society in 1919. Later he actively encouraged climbers, including George Mallory, to attempt Mount Everest, and they followed the same initial route as the earlier Tibet Mission.
He encouraged also his famous servant Gladys Aylward to become a Christian missionary to China.
Younghusband is also known as the founder of the World Congress of Faiths (1936), and wrote several books on faith and spirituality.
See also
- George Nathaniel Curzon who sent Younghusband's expedition to Tibet.
- Bhutans later king Ugyen Wangchuck who accompanied Younghusband to Tibet
Further reading
- Broadbent, Tom On Younghusband's Path: Peking to Pindi (ISBN 0954854225, pub. 2005).
- Candler, Edmund The Unveiling of Lhasa. (Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd ?1905)
- Fleming, Peter Bayonets to Lhasa (ISBN 0195838629, reprint 1986).
- French, Patrick Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer (ISBN 0006376010, reprint 1997).
- Hopkirk, Peter The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia (ISBN 1568360223, reprint 1994).
- Younghusband, Sir Francis The Epic of Mount Everest (ISBN 0330482858, reprint 2001).
- Younghusband, Sir Francis Modern Mystics (ISBN 1417980036, reprint 2004).