Douglas Busk

British diplomat and mountaineer (1906–1990)

Douglas Busk
Born	(1906-07-15)15 July 1906 London
Died	11 December 1990(1990-12-11) (aged 84) Chilbolton, Hampshire
Nationality	British
Alma mater	New College, Oxford
Occupation(s)	diplomat, mountaineer and geographer
Honours	KCMG

Douglas Laird Busk KCMG (1906–1990) was a British diplomat, mountaineer and geographer.^[1]^[2]

Personal life

Busk was born in London^[3] on 15 July 1906 and educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, also spending some time at Princeton University.^[1] He married Bridget Hemsley Thompson in 1937, and they had two daughters. She was an artist and her line drawings illustrate his books The Delectable Mountains^[4] and The Fountain of the Sun . He died on 11 December 1990, aged 84, at Chilbolton.^[2]^[1]

Diplomatic career

Busk joined the diplomatic service in 1927 and served in countries including Iran, Hungary, Japan, Turkey and Iraq. He served as Britain's ambassador to Ethiopia (1952–1956), Finland (1958–1960) and Venezuela (1961–1964).^[2]

Mountaineering

Busk was a notable mountaineer, gaining membership of the Alpine Club while an undergraduate, after making the first winter ascent of the north face of Pic du Midi d'Ossau.^[1] His obituary in The Times said that his "greatest contribution" was his work as chairman of the library of the Alpine Club, culminating in the production of a 600-page catalogue and the 1981 exhibition "The Treasures of the Alpine Club".^[2]

Recognition

Busk was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1959 Birthday Honours.^[5]

The Royal Geographical Society, of which he was honorary vice-president, awards an annual Busk Medal named in his honour.^[6]

Selected publications

Busk, Douglas (1946). The Delectable Mountains: illustrated by 43 of the author's own photographs and with maps by the author; the sketches by Bridget Busk. Hodder & Stoughton.
Busk, Douglas (1957). The Fountain of the Sun. Unfinished journeys in Ethiopia and the Ruwenzoi. Max Parrish.
Busk, Douglas (1965). The curse of tongues. Pall Mall Press.
Busk, Douglas (1967). The craft of diplomacy : how to run a diplomatic service. Praeger Press.
Busk, Douglas (1967). The craft of diplomacy : mechanics and development of national representation overseas. Pall Mall Press.
Busk, Douglas; Devies, Lucien; Germain, Félix; Germain, Jeanne; Busk, Bridget (1974). Armand Charlet: portrait d'un guide. Grenoble: Arthaud. ISBN 2700300599. On Armand Charlet

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Band, George; Peck, Edward (1991). "Obituary: Sir Douglas Busk, KCMG 1906-1990". The Geographical Journal. 157 (2): 242–244. ISSN 0016-7398. JSTOR 635315.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Sir Douglas Busk (obituary)". The Times. 20 December 1990. p. 12.
^ "Index entry: Busk". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
^ Busk, Douglas (1946). The Delectable Mountains. Hodder & Stoughton.
^ "No. 41727". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1959. p. 3701.
^ "A history of the Society's medals and awards". Royal Geographical Society. Retrieved 28 October 2022.