Born: 1794 (Semur-en-Brionnais, France)
Died: 1871 (Lausanne, Switzerland)
Biography:
Henriette d’Angeville was born on March 10, 1794, in Semur-en-Brionnais, France. She came from a French aristocratic family, but their lives were drastically changed by the French Revolution. Her father was imprisoned and her grandfather executed, forcing the family to flee to the Rhône-Alpes region. After her father’s death in 1827, Henriette settled in Geneva, Switzerland.
Henriette had always been an avid walker and had a deep desire to climb Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe. In 1838, at the age of 44, she finally had the opportunity to fulfill that dream. Henriette became the second woman ever to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, following in the footsteps of Maria Paradis who had achieved the feat in 1808. Her accomplishment garnered significant attention and she was widely hailed as a pioneer in mountaineering.
This success fueled Henriette’s passion for climbing, and she spent the next twenty-five years scaling twenty-one more peaks across the Alps. Despite her age, she continued to challenge herself and remained an active mountaineer. Even at the age of 65, she managed to summit the Oldenhorn.
In addition to her mountaineering pursuits, Henriette developed an interest in speleology later in life. She founded a museum of mineralogy in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she resided until her death on January 13, 1871.
Henriette d’Angeville’s legacy extends beyond her mountaineering achievements. Her determination and courage inspired countless individuals, both men and women, to pursue their own dreams and overcome challenges. She played a significant role in breaking down societal barriers and proving that women were capable of remarkable feats in the field of mountaineering. Henriette’s remarkable journey continues to inspire adventurers to this day.