| Richard E. Byrd
first made his mark in the U.S. Navy. Graduating with the
class of 1912 from the U.S. Naval Academy, he served in the
battleship fleet until forced into medical retirement in 1916
from the aftereffects of a smashed ankle suffered while a
midshipman. Recalled to active duty in a retired status, he
organized the Commission on Training Camps. In April 1918
he won his wings as Naval Aviator 608.
From the start of his flying
career he demonstrated unusual ability. Byrd pioneered the
technique of nighttime landings of seaplanes on the ocean
and flew out over the horizon, out of sight of land, and
navigated back to his base. In 1918 he proposed flying the
newly built NC-1 flying boats across the Atlantic to the
war zone in France. His war service was in Canada as Commander,
U.S. Naval Air Forces with responsibility for two air bases
in Nova Scotia.
With the conclusion of
hostilities, Byrd was called to Washington and made responsible
for the navigational preparations for the transatlantic
flight attempt of the NC flying boats in 1919 He was a skilled
officer in representing Navy interests under consideration
by the Congress. Byrd won wide acclaim for directing the
lobbying effort that resulted in the first postwar pay-raise
for military personnel. Byrd was also invaluable in the
long campaign of Naval aviators to establish a Bureau of
Aeronautics.
Interested in polar exploration
from childhood, his adult involvement began in 1924 when
he was appointed navigator for the proposed transpolar flight
of the Navy's dirigible Shenandoah from Alaska to Spitzbergen.
When the flight was canceled by President Coolidge, Byrd
began to organize his own Navy flight expedition to the
Arctic. He was compelled to join forces with the MacMillan
Expedition to northwest Greenland sponsored by the National
Geographic Society in 1925. At that time Byrd completed
the first flights over Ellsemere Island and the interior
of Greenland. In 1926 he took leave from the Navy
to organize a privately financed expedition to the Arctic,
which was to be based in Spitzbergen.
Plans included several
flights over the pack ice, including one to the North Pole.
Supported by Edsel Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the New
York Times and others, Byrd and his pilot, Floyd Bennett,
claimed to have reached the North Pole on May 9, 1926. Both
men were awarded the Medal of Honor after their return to
the United States. In later years scholars have raised questions
about the success of the expedition in flying over the North
Pole. Cheered by the outpouring of public support
and admiration, Byrd continued his leave from the Navy.
With commercial sponsorship, he completed the first multi-engine
airplane crossing of the Atlantic to France. Byrd then turned
his sights to Antarctica in 1928.
During the remaining years
of his life he was involved in five expeditions to Antarctica.
These explorations accounted for the discovery of hundreds
of thousands of square miles of territory which were claimed
for the United States. He personified the inception of the
mechanical era of Antarctic exploration. No other person
in Antarctic history has contributed more to the geographic
discovery of the continent than Byrd.
With highly visible accomplishments,
he thrilled millions and raised large amounts of funding.
He flew over the South Pole in November 1929. He spent most
of the winter of 1934 alone in a meteorological
hut some 100 miles into the interior. His winter weather
observations were the first taken from the interior. This
effort almost cost Byrd his life when he was poisoned by
carbon monoxide fumes.
Byrd remained
a promoter of Antarctic exploration. He merged his plans
for a third private expedition with governmental plans and
became the commanding officer of the United
States Antarctic Service.
With the onset of World
War II he returned to active service and earned two decorations
as the Chief of Naval Operations.
In the early postwar years,
Byrd participated in the organization of the U.S. Navy Antarctic
Developments Project in 1946-47 (Operation Highjump) He
supervised the preparation of a study for the Joint Chiefs
of Staff of Greenland as a site for military training and
operations. In his final years he was called again to serve
the nation as Officer in Charge of United States Antarctic
Programs. This responsibility gave him authority to coordinate
government supported scientific, logistic and political
work in Antarctica. Admiral Byrd remained an influential
figure in polar research until his death in 1957.
Courtesy of: Byrd
Polar Research Center
|
Learn
more...
Related Products
|
Alone
in Antarctica -
The remarkable story of America’s
most famous, and controversial polar explorer, Richard
E. Byrd. (PBS Video) |
 |
|
Alone
-
This book tells the story of Admiral
Byrd's six months alone near the bottom of the world
in 1934. |
 |
History
Main » History
Timeline » Richard
Byrd
|
