DNA Explainer : What is the calculated height of Mount Everest? In 1830, Sir George Everest became director of Survey of India. In 1831 he appointed Radhanath Sikdar a mathematician from WB to the post of Computer. Share Updated: Jan 13, 2021, 06:22 PM IST Indian mathematician and surveyor Radhanath Sikdar was probably the first person to identify that Mount Everest (then known as peak XV) was the world's highest peak as he was the first person to calculate the height of the mountain in 1852. However it was officially announced in March 1856. In 1830, Sir George Everest became the director of Survey of India and in the year 1831, he appointed Radhanath Sikdar, a mathematician from West Bengal, to the post of 'Computer' in the Survey of India.