Thomas George Montgomerie facts for kids
Thomas George Montgomerie (1830–1878) was a British surveyor. He was part of a huge project called the Great Trigonometric Survey in British India during the 1850s. This survey aimed to map the entire country accurately. Montgomerie is famous for naming K2, the second tallest mountain in the world. The "K" in K2 stands for the Karakoram mountain range.
Mapping Mountains: How Accurate Was He?
Even though Montgomerie and his team often couldn't get very close to the areas they were mapping, their work was incredibly precise. The measurements they took for tall mountains in the 1800s are very similar to what we know today. This shows how skilled they were at surveying.
Secret Explorers: Mapping Tibet
Later, Montgomerie helped try to map Tibet. At that time, Tibet was not part of the British Empire and was closed to foreigners. So, Montgomerie came up with a clever plan. He hired and trained Indian explorers. These explorers would travel into Tibet disguised as local traders or pilgrims. They were known as "pundits" and secretly collected information for the survey.
Exploring Central Asia
In 1867, Montgomerie was sent to Peshawar. His new job was to find and train more local agents. These agents would explore parts of Central Asia. Montgomerie recruited several people to survey areas like Chitral and Badakhshan. One of these agents was Hyder Shah. In 1870, Hyder Shah traveled through the princely states of Swat and Dir, and also explored Badakhshan.
