Richard E. Byrd
1888 – 1957 · aged 69
American naval officer, explorer (1888-1957)
- Born
- 25 Oct 1888 · Winchester
- Died
- 11 Mar 1957 · Boston
Life timeline
Their life from birth to death. On the timeline, world events of the time are shown faintly.
- 25 Oct 1888BornBorn in Winchester
- 1914 – 1918WarWorld War I
- 1926AwardHubbard Medal
- 1929AwardDavid Livingstone Centenary Medal
- 1929AwardLangley Gold Medal
- 1931AwardPatron’s Medal
- 1939 – 1945WarWorld War II
- 1948AwardVega Medal
- 11 Mar 1957DiedDied in Boston
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Meanwhile in the world
Major world events during their lifetime (1888 – 1957).
- 18961896 Summer Olympics
- 1898Spanish–American War
- 1904 – 1905Russo-Japanese War
- 1915 – 1923Armenian genocide
- 1917Balfour Declaration
- 1917February Revolution
- 1917October Revolution
- 1917 – 1922Russian Civil War
- 1919 – 1920Paris Peace Conference
- 1920Treaty of Versailles
- 1933 – 1945The Holocaust
- 19341934 FIFA World Cup
- 19361936 Summer Olympics
- 1937 – 1945Second Sino-Japanese War
- 19381938 FIFA World Cup
- 1938Munich Agreement
- 1939 – 1940Winter War
- 1940 – 1945Auschwitz concentration camp
- 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor
- 1941 – 1945Eastern Front
- 1941Operation Barbarossa
- 1942 – 1943Battle of Stalingrad
- 1945Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- 1945 – 1946Nuremberg trials
- 19501950 FIFA World Cup
- 1950 – 1953Korean War
- 1953 – 1959Cuban Revolution
- 19541954 FIFA World Cup
- 1955 – 1975Vietnam War
- 1956Hungarian Revolution of 1956
- 1956Suez Crisis
Biography
Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader crossed the Atlantic Ocean, a segment of the Arctic Ocean, and a segment of the Antarctic Plateau. He is also known for discovering Mount Sidley, the largest dormant volcano in Antarctica.
Byrd claimed to be the first to reach both the North and South Poles by air. However, there is some controversy as to whether he was actually the first person to reach the North Pole. It is generally believed that the distance he claimed to have flown was longer than the possible fuel range of his airplane.
He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration, and the Navy Cross, the second highest honor for valor given by the U.S. Navy.
Text from the Wikipedia article Richard E. Byrd, CC BY-SA 4.0
About this information
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