Everest, George

The successful isolation of all of these compounds is more a tribute to the persistence with which they were pursued than to any inherent stability of the bonds themselves. To invert George Leigh Mallory s remark about Mt. Everest, the extraordinary efforts expended on this class of compounds stemmed from the fact that they were not there These efforts and their corresponding successes have caused one observer to comment Finding exceptions to the double-bond rule has become a... 

In 1852, Sir George Everest and his survey team used trigonometry to measure the height of Peak XV in the Himalayas from a distance of 100 miles. They estimated the peak at exactly 29,000 feet above sea level but arbitrarily added 2 feet for fear that others would think it was an estimate. The height of Peak XV, now known as Mount Everest, is 29,028 feet. 

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