Heron, Alexander Macmillan (1884-1971), geologist

Persona

Heron, Alexander Macmillan (1884-1971), geologist

31 July 1884 - 1971

Dr Alexander Heron was a member of the 1921 British Mount Everest Expedition.

Alexander Heron was a Scottish geologist who became Director of the Geological Survey of India. He participated in the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition following which he produced a geological map of the Everest region of Tibet.

1922 expedition - The Survey of India nominated Heron to accompany the 1922 expedition as geologist even though the Tibetan authorities had refused permission [they had accused the 1921 party of mining precious stones and disturbing Demons]. Frederick Bailey was Britain's political advisor for Tibet and he continued with his predecessor's decision not to allow geologists. So, even though Heron joined the party at Kalimpong hoping for a last-minute reprieve, the Foreign Office in London, not wanting to cause diplomatic difficulty, instructed Charles Bruce, the leader of the expedition, not to allow Heron to participate and he had to return to Darjeeling. Despite all this Heron's discoveries were to be the foundation for the unofficial later work of Noel Odell on the 1924 expedition and Lawrence Wager on the 1933 expedition.

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