Filippo De Filippi (6 April 1869 – 23 September 1938) was an Italian medical doctor, scientist, mountaineer and explorer. De Filippi was born inTurin on 6 April 1869 to Giuseppe De Filippi, a lawyer, and Olimpia Sella.[1][2][3][4][5]
Working as a doctor De Filippi specialised in physiological chemistry and in experimental aspects of surgery, lecturing atBologna andGenoa universities.[6]
De Filippi married the poetCaroline Fitzgerald in 1901, daughter of William John Fitzgerald. InWorld War I he volunteered as a lieutenant colonel in theRed Cross and was posted to London from 1917 to 1919 where he ran the Italian office of propaganda and information. He was awarded the honorary knighthood ofKCIE in 1916.[2][7]
Well known as an Alpine mountaineer, in 1897 De Filippi joined theDuke of the Abruzzi in an expedition toAlaska where they were the first people to climbMount Saint Elias on 31 July.[4][6][3] Then, in 1903, he explored Asia, crossing theCaucasus and enteringTurkestan.[9] In 1906 he wrote the book about (though did not take part in) Abruzzi's exploration of theRuwenzori mountains on theUganda–Congo border.[2] In 1909 he again went with the Duke of the Abruzzi, this time in theKarakoram mountains, writing the book describing the expedition.[9]
From 1913 to 1914, De Filippi organised and led a large and highly successful scientific expedition to Central Asia:Baltistan,Ladakh andXinjiang. Accurate gravity and magnetic measurements were made and wireless signals were used to determine longitude. There were ethnological and anthropological, topographical and geological studies. The exploration determined that theRimo Glacier formed the watershed of Central Asia. The work was written up in seventeen volumes.[6][8]
^Pallastrelli, Gottardo (2018).Ritratto di signora in viaggio : un'americana cosmopolita nel mondo di Henry James (eBook) (in Italian). Roma: Donzelli editore.ISBN978-88-6843-7770.
^abc"Filippo De Filippi".Ippolito Desideri (1684–1733) Tibet, Buddhism – The Bridge Across Two Cultures.Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved23 February 2019.
^abc"De Filippi, Filippo".Enciclopedia Treccani (in Italian).Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved19 February 2019.
^abSurdich, Francesco."De Filippi, Filippo".Treccani: Dizionario Biografico (in Italian).Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved19 February 2019.
