David Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1943-05-29)May 29, 1943 |
| Died | August 20, 2021(2021-08-20) (aged 78) Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (B.S., Mathematics) University of Denver (Ph.D., English, 1970)[1] |
| Occupation(s) | climber, author |
| Known for | author of books on mountain climbing |
| Parent(s) | Walter Orr Roberts (father) Janet Smock (mother) |
David Stuart Roberts (May 29, 1943 – August 20, 2021) was an Americanclimber,mountaineer, college professor, and author of books and articles about climbing and the history of theAmerican Southwest. He was particularly noted for his booksThe Mountain of My Fear andDeborah: A Wilderness Narrative, chronicling major ascents inAlaska in the 1960s, which had a major impact on the form of mountaineering literature.
Roberts was born inDenver,Colorado, on May 29, 1943. His father,Walter Orr Roberts, was an astronomer and scientist who headed theHarvard College Observatory in nearbyBoulder; his mother, Janet Naomi Smock Roberts, was elected to its city council.[2] Roberts attendedBoulder High School, before studying mathematics atHarvard University, graduating in 1965. He was a member of and former president of the Harvard Mountaineering Club where he led exploratory first ascents of many peaks in Alaska. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in English from theUniversity of Denver in 1970.[1]
In thirteen seasons spent in the Alaskan wilderness, Roberts was well known for many first ascents, including theWickersham Wall onDenali, the west rib ofMount Huntington, climbing in the WesternBrooks Range and theKichatna Spires, and on the east face ofMount Dickey. Roberts also named Alaska'sRevelation Mountains, giving many of the peaks Biblical names because he had been reading the Bible as part of his English literature studies at the time.[3][4]
Roberts was a professor of literature atHampshire College, inAmherst, Massachusetts, from 1970 to 1979. He also designed the college's Outdoors Program.[1] He was often acknowledged as the "dean" of American climbing literature and published extensively on mountaineering.[5] He ultimately authored 32 books on the subject, as well as the celebrated adventures of historical figures. These included books on theAncestral Puebloans and a biography onJean Stafford.[2]
Roberts also mentored other writers, most notablyJon Krakauer, who he taught at Hampshire. He contributed toOutside, as well asNational Geographic,National Geographic Adventure, andThe Atlantic Monthly. His final book,Into the Great Emptiness: Peril and Survival on the Greenland Ice Cap, is scheduled to be released in mid-2022, one year after his death.[2]
Roberts married Sharon Morris in 1967. They did not have children. They resided inCambridge, Massachusetts, before moving toWatertown.[2]
Roberts died on August 20, 2021, atBrigham and Women's Hospital inBoston. He was 78, and was diagnosed with stage IVthroat cancer six years before his death.[2]
