British mountaineer, explorer, geographer, and author who advocated the recognition of geography as an independent discipline in English universities (from 1884).

On an expedition to the central Caucasus Mountains (1868), Freshfield made the first ascent of Mt. Elbrus (Elbrus, Mount) (18,510 feet), the highest peak in the range and in Russia west of the Ural Mountains. Later, he failed in attempts to climb the Himalayan mountain Kāngchenjunga (1899; 28,208 feet) and the Ruwenzori Range in Central Africa (1905). Freshfield was secretary (1881–94) and president (1914–17) of the Royal Geographical Society and chairman of the Society of Authors (1908–09). Among his books are Italian Alps (1875), The Exploration of the Caucasus (1896), Round Kangchenjunga (1903), and two editions of Murray's Guide to Switzerland.