1859-1925

American mountaineer who set altitude records. Supported by her wealthy Massachusetts family, Workman and her husband traveled abroad. They wrote eight books about their foreign adventures. The couple bicycled 20,000 miles through Asia. The Himalayas inspired Workman to pursue mountaineering. Her climb to the top of Pinnacle Peak (22,815 feet or 6,954 m) in 1906 was the highest any woman had reached. Workman disputed rivals' claims, and her record was not broken until 1934. The Royal Geographic Society sponsored Workman's final 1912 expedition to Siachen Glacier.