Jacques Balmat

Biography

Jacques Balmat (French pronunciation: [ʒak balma]), called Balmat du Mont Blanc (1762–1834) was a mountaineer, a Savoyard mountain guide, born in the Chamonix valley in Savoy. He is known for the first ascent of Mont Blanc with medical doctor Michel-Gabriel Paccard on 8 August 1786.

Jacques Balmat was born in 1762 in the Chamonix valley in Savoy, at this time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. He was a hunter and collector of crystals.

On 8 August 1786 Balmat completed the first ascent of Mont Blanc with physician Michel-Gabriel Paccard. For this feat, King Victor Amadeus III gave him the honorary title du Mont Blanc.

After the successful ascent, Balmat collected the reward offered 25 years...