Francis Fox Tuckett
Encyclopedia
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
(10 February 1834 – 20 June 1913) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
. He was vice-president of the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)
The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...
from 1866 to 1868, and a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
.
Life and family
Tuckett was born in 1834 at the Old House, Frenchay CommonFrenchay
Frenchay is a suburb of Bristol, England, to the north east of the city, but located mainly in South Gloucestershire and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne....
, near Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, the eldest child of Francis and Mariana Tuckett.
His father, Francis Tuckett of Frenchay (1802–1868), was a world traveller as well as a leather merchant, horticulturalist, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
. Himself the son of Philip Debell Tuckett (1749–1816), Francis Tuckett married Mariana Fox (1807–1863), a daughter of Robert Were Fox the Elder
Robert Were Fox the Elder
Robert Were Fox was a Quaker businessman who lived in Falmouth.- Life and work :Fox was born in Fowey, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, and married Elizabeth Tregelles in 1788. The couple had six sons, including Charles Fox of Trebah, Robert Were Fox FRS of Penjerrick Garden and Alfred Fox of...
(1754–1818) and a member of the notable Fox family of Falmouth
Fox family of Falmouth
The Fox family of Falmouth, Cornwall, UK were very influential in the development of the town of Falmouth in the 19th century and of the Cornish Industrial Revolution...
, on 29 March 1833. Francis Tuckett was in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
when he died in 1868.
Tuckett's grandfather Robert Were Fox the Elder
Robert Were Fox the Elder
Robert Were Fox was a Quaker businessman who lived in Falmouth.- Life and work :Fox was born in Fowey, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, and married Elizabeth Tregelles in 1788. The couple had six sons, including Charles Fox of Trebah, Robert Were Fox FRS of Penjerrick Garden and Alfred Fox of...
was a Quaker ship broker and business man in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, while his uncle Robert Were Fox the Younger
Robert Were Fox the Younger
Robert Were Fox FRS was a British geologist, natural philosopher and inventor. He is known mainly for his work on the temperature of the earth and his construction of a compass to measure magnetic dip at sea....
(1789–1877) was a geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and natural philosopher who became a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Francis Fox Tuckett was the eldest of five children, and his parents' only son. His eldest sister Elizabeth Fox Tuckett, born in 1835, died young, and his other sisters were a second Elizabeth Fox (1837), followed by Mariana Fox (1839) and Charlotte Fox (1842).
Tuckett entered his father's business as a leather factor and was also a gentleman farmer all of his life, taking two to three months off each year for alpine exploration. In 1882, his business, under the name of 'Tuckett and Rake', was at 18 & 20, Victoria Street, Bristol, and was described as 'Leather, Valonia, and Raw Hide factors'.
On 17 January 1896, at the age of 62, Tuckett married Alice Fox while he was in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
He died in 1913 at his birthplace, the Old House, Frenchay Common, and was buried at the Friends'
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
Meeting House in Frenchay.
Alpinism
Tuckett was one of the main figures of the Golden age of alpinismGolden age of alpinism
The golden age of alpinism was the period between Alfred Wills's ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854 and Edward Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, during which many major peaks in the Alps saw their first ascents....
, making the ascent of 269 peaks and the crossing of 687 passes. In Scrambles amongst the Alps Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper , was an English illustrator, climber and explorer best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. On the descent four members of the party were killed.-Early life:...
called Tuckett "that mighty mountaineer, whose name is known throughout the length and breadth of the Alps". Geoffrey Winthrop Young
Geoffrey Winthrop Young
Geoffrey Winthrop Young D.Litt. was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering.-Mountaineering:...
called Tuckett's approach to climbing "encyclopaedic".
His first trip to the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
was in 1842 in the company of his father. They went to Chamonix
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...
and he explored the Mer de Glace.
Aletschhorn
The Aletschhorn is a mountain in the Alps in Switzerland, lying within the Jungfrau-Aletsch region, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO...
in the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
together with the guides Johann Joseph Bennen, Peter Bohren and V. Tairraz. Here he showed his passion for scientific observation, making barometric calculations during the climb and on the summit in the teeth of a strong gale. Of the scene at the summit he wrote:
In 1861, Tuckett tested a prototype Alpine sleeping bag
Sleeping bag
A sleeping bag is a protective "bag" for a person to sleep in, essentially a blanket that can be closed with a zipper or similar means, and functions as a bed in situations where a bed is unavailable . Its primary purpose is to provide warmth and thermal insulation...
. Within a few years he had perfected a bag design which consisted of blanket material with rubber-coated fabric on the underside.
He pioneered exploration within the Dauphiné Alps
Dauphiné Alps
The Dauphiné Alps are a group of mountain ranges in southeastern France, west of the main chain of the Alps. They are separated from the Cottian Alps in the east by the Col du Galibier and the upper Durance valley; from the western Graian Alps in the north-east by the river Arc; from the lower...
in the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
, in 1862 making the first crossings of the col des Ecrins, the col du Sélé and the col du Glacier Blanc in the Massif des Écrins
Massif des Écrins
The mountains of the Massif des Écrins form the core of the Écrins National Park in France.-Mountains:*Barre des Écrins 4102 m*La Meije 3983 m*Ailefroide 3954 m*Mont Pelvoux 3946 m*Pic Sans Nom 3913 m*Pic Gaspard 3883 m*Le Râteau 3809 m...
with the guides Michel Croz
Michel Croz
Michel Auguste Croz was a French mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains in the western Alps during the golden age of alpinism...
, Peter Perren and Bartolommeo Peyrotte. He also made an attempt, with the same party, on the highest mountain in the range, the unclimbed Barre des Ecrins
Barre des Écrins
The Barre des Écrins is a mountain in the French Alps, the highest point of the Massif des Écrins, and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4,000 metres.- Geography :...
. In Tuckett's own words:
According to Whymper, Tuckett "halted before the Pointe des Ecrins [as the Barre was then called], and, dismayed by its appearance, withdrew his forces to gather less dangerous laurels elsewhere". The expedition did have the benefit, however, of "[throwing] some light on the Ecrins".
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; in 1864, together with Douglas William Freshfield
Douglas Freshfield
Douglas William Freshfield was a British lawyer, mountaineer and author, who edited the Alpine Journal from 1872 to 1880...
, he traversed the Pale di San Martino group in eastern Trentino, crossing the San Martino Dolomites for the first time, a feat which astonished the mountaineering world as they had no maps and little equipment, relying on skill and intuition. In Trentino, the names of Tuckett, Freshfield, John Ball
John Ball (naturalist)
John Ball was an Irish politician, naturalist and Alpine traveller.-Background and education:Ball was born in Dublin, the eldest son of Nicholas Ball and his wife Jane Sherlock...
, and Edward Robson Whitwell are remembered as the pioneers who put the Dolomites on the map. In 1871, in the Brenta Dolomites, Tuckett, with Freshfield and guide Devouassou climbed the Cima Brenta (3,150 m) via the Vedretta di Brenta Superiore on the west side; at the time this peak was thought to be the highest summit in the range. The Rifugio Tuckett (right) above Madonna di Campiglio
Madonna di Campiglio
Madonna di Campiglio is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an altitude of 1,522 m...
, originally called the Berliner Hütte, situated at an altitude of 2,272 metres in the Brenta Dolomites, is named after him, as is the Bocca del Tuckett (2,648 m), a pass between two steep, rocky peaks that may be seen from the hut.
In the Bernina Range
Bernina Range
The Bernina Range is a mountain range in the Alps of eastern Switzerland and northern Italy. It is considered to be part of the Central Eastern Alps. It is one of the highest ranges of the Alps, covered with many glaciers. Piz Bernina , its highest peak, is the most easterly four thousand-metre...
in Italy and Switzerland, Tuckett and E. N. Buxton made the first crossing of the Fuorcla dal Zupò, the "fairly difficult" pass between Piz Zupò
Piz Zupò
Piz Zupò is a mountain in the Bernina Range in Switzerland and Italy, and is the second highest peak in the range after Piz Bernina.The first ascent of the mountain was made by L. Enderlin and Serardi, with Badrutt on 9 July 1863....
and Piz Argient
Piz Argient
Piz Argient is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps on the border between Italy and the Swiss canton of Graubünden.The peak is bounded to the north by the Morteratsch Glacier, to the west by the Upper Scerscen Glacier, and to the south and east by the Fellaria Glacier...
, together with guides Peter Jenny, Christian Michel and Franz Biner on 28 July 1864; on the same day, with the same party, he made the first crossing of the Fuorcla Crast' Agüzza
Crast' Agüzza
Crast' Agüzza is a mountain in the Bernina Range in Italy and Switzerland.The peak is bounded to the north by the Morteratsch Glacier and to the south by the Upper Scerscen Glacier...
. In the same range Tuckett and F. A. Y. Brown made the first ascent of the south ridge (or Spallagrat) of Piz Bernina
Piz Bernina
Piz Bernina is the highest mountain of the Eastern Alps and the highest point of the Bernina Range the highest peak in south Rhetic Alps. It is also the farthest easterly mountain higher than 4,000 m in the Alps, the highest point of the Swiss canton of Graubünden, and the fifth-most prominent...
together with guides Christian Almer
Christian Almer
thumb|220px|Christian AlmerChristian Almer was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many prominent mountains in the western Alps during the golden and silver ages of alpinism....
and Franz Andermatten on 23 June 1866. This is today the normal route up the mountain.
His sister Charlotte wrote that "He kept himself in good training for his beloved pursuit of mountaineering by his daily walks to and from Bristol, five miles each way. He used to get home for six and for more years than I can say, the institution existed of an apple tart served with his tea".
Another sister, Elizabeth, who was a traveller, writer and artist in her own right, illustrated her Alpine Journal with sketches. One is of the first ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of the Cimon della Pala
Cimon della Pala
Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites , is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy...
by Edward Robson Whitwell in 1870.
Collector and antiquarian
A Fellow of the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
and a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
British Association for the Advancement of Science
frame|right|"The BA" logoThe British Association for the Advancement of Science or the British Science Association, formerly known as the BA, is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating interaction between...
, on his travels Tuckett built up a collection of objects which by 1917 had been donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers Museum
The Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed through that building.The museum was...
at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
As a member of the Clifton Antiquarian Club, Tuckett published antiquarian papers in its Proceedings, including Notes of ancient Norwegian wooden churches (1888) and Notes on ancient Egyptian methods of hewing, dressing, sculpturing and polishing stone (1889).
Author
Tuckett's A Pioneer in the High Alps: Alpine Diaries and Letters of F. F. Tuckett, 1856–1874 was published posthumously in 1920.Honours
- KnightKnightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
of the Order of Saints Maurice and LazarusOrder of Saints Maurice and LazarusThe Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is an order of chivalry awarded by the House of Savoy, the heads of which were formerly Kings of Italy...
, 1865, appointed by King Victor Emmanuel IIVictor Emmanuel II of ItalyVictor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
of ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for geographical and scientific work in the Italian Alps