Now came the issue of naming Peak XV. The Tibetans already called it Chomolungma (Mother Goddess of the World). Unusually for the colonial period, the Survey of India tended to retain the local names where possible but in this case the temptation proved too great. It was named after George Everest. Like many people today, I used to wonder why the British would name the highest mountain in the world after the Surveyor General of India
Tibetan name of Mt. Everest
