Richard E. Byrd

Explorer

Birthday October 25, 1888

Birth Sign Scorpio

Birthplace Winchester, VA

DEATH DATE Mar 11, 1957 (68)

#160,289 Most Popular

About

Polar explorer who took part in six of America's twelve expeditions to the Antarctic.

Before Fame

He learned to fly while serving in WWI, and became a skilled pilot.

Trivia

He was the first to a attempt a flyover of the South Pole, and claimed he carried it out, although later there were some doubts.

Family Life

A descendant of the American Founders, he could trace his ancestry back to John Rolfe and Pocahontas.

Associated With

He was a part of the first Americans expedition to reach the South Pole since Charles Wilkes, who landed a century earlier.