John Norman Collie (September 10, 1859 – November 1, 1942), commonly referred to as J. Norman Collie, was a highly respected British scientist, mountaineer and explorer. He is best remembered in Scotland for his pioneering climbs on the Cuillin in the Isle of Skye, but he also climbed in the Alps with William Cecil Slingsby and Albert F. Mummery. In 1895, Collie, Mummery and fellow climber Geoffrey Hastings headed off for the Himalaya for the world's first attempt at a Himalayan 8000 metre peak, Nanga Parbat. They were years ahead of the time, and the mountain claimed the first of its many victims: Mummery and two Ghurkas, Ragobir and Goman Singh were killed by an avalanche and never seen again. The story of this disastrous expedition is told in Collie's book From the Himalaya to Skye. After gaining climbing experience on the Alps, the Caucasus and the Himalaya, In 1897 he joined the Appalachian Club upon the invitation of Charles Fay and spent the summer climbing in the Canadian Rockies. From 1898 to 1911, Collie visited the Canadian Rockies five more times, accomplishing 21 first ascents and naming more than 30 peaks. In 1903, Collie and Hugh Stutfield published an authoritative book on the region, Climbs and Explorations in the Canadian Rockies. Collie also performed important research in the chemistry field, which led to the first fluorescent light and the taking of the first x-ray for diagnosing medical conditions. Collie died in 1942 from pneumonia, after falling into Storr Loch on a day of fishing. He is interred in an old graveyard at Struan. Mount Collie in Yoho National Park and Sgurr Thormaid (Norman's Peak) on the Isle of Skye were both named after Norman Collie.
External links
References
- Collie, Norman, From the Himalaya to Skye (ISBN 1-904466-08-7).
- Mummery, A.F., My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus (ISBN 1-904466-09-5).
