Farquhar, Francis Peloubet, 1887-1974

Farquhar was born on Dec. 31, 1887 in Newton, MA; AB, Harvard Univ., 1909; became public accountant in Boston and San Francisco, 1909-59; also served as an accountant with the US National Park Service, 1922-25; president of the California Academy of Sciences, and California Historical Society; president of the Sierra Club, and editor of the Bulletin, 1926-46; president, California State Board of Accountancy, 1953-54; recipient of the John Muir award for conservation, 1965; made expeditions to Mt. Olympus, Greece, 1914 and 1951, and to the North Pole, 1949; published books include Place names of the High Sierra (1926), Mount Olympus (1929), The books of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon (1953), and History of the Sierra Nevada (1965); died on Nov. 20, 1974.

Originally from Mass., Francis P. Farquhar moved to the San Francisco Bay Area around 1910 and became known for writing about the Calif. mountains.

Francis Peloubet Farquhar (1887-1974), conservationist, mountaineer, author, and historian.

Francis Peloubet Farquhar (1887-1974) was born in Newton, Massachusetts. On receiving a degree from Harvard University in 1909, he embarked upon a fifty-year career as a public accountant in Boston and San Francisco. He also served as an accountant with the U.S. National Park Service (1922-25); president of the California Academy of Sciences and California Historical Society; and director of the Sierra Club (1924-1951) and editor of its Bulletin (1926-1945). He received the John Muir award for conservation in 1965. Besides climbing in the Sierra Nevada Range, Farquhar made expeditions to Mt. Olympus in Greece (1914 and 1951) and to the North Pole (1949). He published numerous articles on mountaineering as well as several books, including "Place Names of the High Sierra" (1926), "Mount Olympus" (1929), and "History of the Sierra Nevada" (1965). He died in Berkeley, California, in 1974.

Biography

Farquhar was born on December 31, 1887 in Newton, Massachusetts; AB, Harvard University, 1909; became public accountant in Boston and San Francisco, 1909-59; also served as an accountant with the U.S. National Park Service, 1922-25; president of the California Academy of Sciences, and California Historical Society; president of the Sierra Club, and editor of the Bulletin, 1926-46; president, California State Board of Accountancy, 1953-54; recipient of the John Muir award for conservation, 1965; made expeditions to Mount Olympus, Greece, 1914 and 1951, and to the North Pole, 1949; published books include Place Names of the High Sierra (1926), Mount Olympus (1929), The Books of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon (1953), and History of the Sierra Nevada (1965); died on November 20, 1974.

Biography

Francis Peloubet Farquhar -certified public accountant by profession and conservationist, mountaineer, historian and author by avocation -was born in Newton, Massachusetts on December 31, 1887. Graduating from Harvard in 1909, he came to San Francisco in 1910 and, after several business experiences, returned to New England to take up the profession of accounting, studying under Clinton Scovell, a pioneer in the field of cost accounting. In 1914 he came again to California, eventually setting up his own practice in San Francisco as a certified public accountant.

His love of the mountains brought him into mountaineering and conservation circles, and he became deeply involved with the Sierra Club, serving twice as president (1933-35 and 1948-49) and as editor of the Sierra Club Bulletin from 1926 to 1946. He was closely associated with Stephen T. Mather and Horace M. Albright in an unofficial capacity in the administration of the national parks and served temporarily as the National Park Service field accountant, 1922-1925.

His fame as a writer, historian and conservationist was enhanced through books such as Place Names of the High Sierra (1926), Yosemite, The Big Trees and the High Sierra (1948), Up and Down California in 1860-1864: The Journal of William H. Brewer (1931), and the History of the Sierra Nevada (1965), and the many articles on mountains and western history he contributed to periodicals and to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The many organizations with which he was actively associated indicate his wide range of interest; to name but a few -the California Historical Society (serving as president, 1960-1962); the California Academy of Sciences (treasurer, 1938-50 and president, 1950-53); American Alpine Club; California Committee on Registration of Historic Sites; American Geographical Society; California State Board of Accountancy; Council of The Friends of The Bancroft Library; and the Explorers Club.

Mr. Farquhar died in Berkeley, where he had made his home for many years, on November 20, 1974.