George Everest

Colonel Sir George Everest (1790-1866) was the Surveyor-General of India who mapped Mount Everest in 1852.

He was largely responsible for completion of the trigonometric survey of India along the meridian arc from the south of India extending north to Nepal (a distance of approximately 2400 kilometers). The survey was started in 1806 and lasted several decades. George Everest never climbed Mt. Everest or even entered Nepal. However, the completion of the Indian survey allowed the subsequent survey of Everest (at the time un-named) and calculation of its summit height, establishing it as the world's highest mountain. It was later renamed in honor of George Everest.

He was born in Wales. George Everest was the uncle of the mathematician Mary Everest Boole.

Sir George pronounced his last name differently to the way in which it has been popularised,

E as in kEy
VER as in VERsion
EST as in ESTablishment

However the popular pronunciation in use is:

EVER as in EVER,
EST  as in ESTablishment