Professor Tom Hornbein
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hornbein developed an interest in geology as a teenager. His study of geology led to a fascination with mountains. Eventually he also became interested in medicine; he studied and worked as an anesthesiologist. He studied human physiological limits and performance at high altitude. He was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington from 1978 to 1993. His life was a link of medicine and mountaineering.
Tom Hornbein is Professor of Anesthesiology and Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington in Seattle. On May 22, 1963, Hornbein and his companion, Willi Unsoeld, reached the summit of Everest by way of the West Ridge, then completed the first traverse of the mountain by descending on the South side.
