Bradford Washburn was born on June 7,1910, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to a Boston Brahmin family whose roots trace back to Mayflower passenger Elder William Brewster.
11 Facts About Bradford Washburn
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Bradford Washburn's younger brother was Sherwood Larned Washburn, nicknamed "Sherry", who was a physical anthropologist and pioneer in the field of primatology.
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Bradford Washburn received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, where he was a member of the Harvard Mountaineering Club.
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Bradford Washburn returned to Harvard to earn a master's degree in geology and geography in 1960.
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Bradford Washburn was an avid pilot and made his first solo flight in a Fleet biplane at Boeing Field in Seattle in 1934.
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Bradford Washburn earned his private flying license at Roosevelt Field on Long Island later that year.
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Bradford Washburn embarked on a notable expedition in 1937 to Mount Lucania in the Yukon.
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Bradford Washburn called upon Bob Reeve, a famous Alaskan bush pilot, who later replied by cable to Washburn, "Anywhere you'll ride, I'll fly".
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Bradford Washburn was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1956.
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Bradford Washburn gathered many awards over the course of his career, including nine honorary doctorates.
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Bradford Washburn died of heart failure on January 10,2007, at the age of 96, in a retirement home in Lexington, Massachusetts.