Godfrey Vigne
Godfrey Thomas Vigne was an English amateur cricketer and traveller.
Early life
Vigne was born on 1 September 1801 at Walthamstow, then in Essex, the eldest son of Thomas Vigne. He entered Harrow School in 1817, became a barrister in 1824, and was a member of Lincoln's Inn.Cricketing career
He was mainly associated with Hampshire [county cricket team (pre-1864)|Hampshire] and he made 11 known appearances in important matches from 1819 to 1845.Travels
In 1831 Vigne left England for Persia, and then travelled to India. He spent the next seven years travelling in north west India and Central Asia. Between 1835 and 1838 he travelled extensively in Kashmir and Ladakh and was the first European known to have visited Baltistan. In the light of his ease in obtaining a permit to travel to Kashmir, despite his unofficial status, the timing and his repeated extensive journeys north of Kashmir, reaching as far as Skardu and the Saltoro Pass, it has been suggested that he may have been a spy involved in the Great Game.In 1836 Vigne visited Afghanistan, and met the emir, Dost Mohammed. He was said to be the first Englishman to have visited Kabul. He visited the Lahore Durbar of the Sikh Empire in 1837. He was also the first to describe Nanga Parbat.
After 1852 Vigne travelled in Mexico, Nicaragua, the West Indies and the United States. He published several books describing his travels.
In 1841, the urial, a wild sheep living in Central and Southern Asia, was given the scientific name Ovis vignei in his honour. During his 1892 expedition to the Karakoram, Conway, 1st [Baron Conway">Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington">Conway, 1st [Baron Conway of Allington|Conway] named several previously unvisited glaciers which he encountered, one of those was the Vigne Glacier.
Works
- . Publisher: Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 9, 1 January 1839
- . With illus. from drawings made by the author on the spot. Publisher: Whitacker & Co., London, 1840
- . Publisher: Henry Colburn London, 1842
- Publisher: Henry Colburn London, 1842
- by J. Forbes Royal M.D. F.R.S.
External sources
- in: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 58
- Internet Archive – online
Category:1863 deaths
Category:English cricketers
Category:English cricketers of 1826 to 1863
Category:Hampshire cricketers
Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Category:English travel writers
Category:Explorers of Central Asia
Category:People educated at Harrow School
Category:People from Walthamstow
Category:Cricketers from the London Borough of Waltham Forest
Category:English cricketers of 1787 to 1825
Category:A to K v L to Z cricketers
Category:Writers about Kashmir
Category:Marylebone Cricket Club Second 9 with 3 Others cricketers
Category:British people of the Great Game