Amelia's Antarctic Connection

McKenna East
7 days ago
4 min read

By McKenna East

Newspaper photo of Amelia Earhart shaking the hand of Richard Byrd. Caption reads: Photo shows Amelia Earhart being greeted by Commander Richard E. Byrd shortly after her arrival in New York City. Wilmer Stultz, her pilot, and Grover Whalen, city official, are seen in background. — Amelia Earhart Greeted by Byrd -- The News-Star, Friday, July 13, 1928 edition, page 18

Amelia Earhart, born in the year 1897, grew up entrenched in the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. During this time, pioneering polar explorers traveled to the extremes of the Earth in the name of science and adventure. As a trailblazer in her own right, it is of no surprise that Earhart encountered a number of these explorers throughout her career in aviation. The adventurer and aviator, Rear Admiral Richard Byrd, was among the first of this distinction to cross paths with Earhart.

Black and white photo of Richard Byrd in a heavy flight suit, looking down, and holding a flight helmet in his left hand — Admiral Richard Byrd, 1927 -- Wikimedia Commons

Byrd was born in the year 1888 in the town of Winchester, Virginia to parents Richard and Eleanor Byrd. He pursued his studies at various military academies, after which he enlisted in the United States Navy. His flying career began during his time at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, shortly after the start of World War I. Byrd’s first experience with polar exploration would not occur until years later, when in 1925, he took part as an aviator in explorer Donald Macmillan’s expedition to Greenland (1).

Byrd’s experience in Greenland would spur him to embark on an Arctic expedition of his own the following year, with the intent of reaching the North Pole by plane (2). Preparations for this historic flight took place in the Kings Bay settlement in Spitzbergen, or modern day Svalbard. Byrd would finally set off for the pole in his Fokker FVII Trimotor airplane, the ‘Josephine Ford’ on May 9, 1926. He returned to Kings Bay the following day and was renowned as the first man to fly to the pole and back. However, in the years to come, the accuracy of his flight would be put into question, as it is unlikely he could have made the entire trip in the conditions he claimed (3).

Fortunately for Byrd, at the time, the expedition was considered by all to be a success and afforded him much acclaim. It was shortly after returning to America that Byrd and Earhart’s paths would first cross when she was asked to be a passenger in the ‘Friendship’ flight across the Atlantic. Much secrecy surrounded the preparations for this endeavor. Byrd’s upcoming Antarctic expedition was used as a screen to misdirect the public’s attention from the arrangements being made for this historic flight (4). Therefore, it was to the world’s surprise when on June 18, 1929, the ‘Friendship,’ piloted by William Stultz, began its flight over the Atlantic.

Newspaper clipping of Amelia Earhart standing next to Richard Byrd, who is shaking the hand of Mrs. Frederick E. Guest. Caption reads: Made Friendship Flight Possible! Commander R. Byrd and Miss Amelia Earhart were at hand to greet Mrs. Frederick E. Guest, sponsor of the Friendship flight, when she arrived on the S. S. Homeric. Commander Byrd is shown shaking hands with Mrs. Guest while Miss Earhart looks on. — Amelia Earhart and Richard Byrd standing with Mrs. Frederick E. Guest, the sponsor of the *Friendship* flight -- The Stockton Independent, Thursday, September 20, 1928 edition, page 11

Taking part in the ‘Friendship’ flight would grant Earhart instant celebrity status, along with making her fifteen-hundred dollars from an endorsement deal with a cigarette brand. However, Earhart would not keep the wealth that she had earned from this flight, instead donating the proceeds to help fund Byrd’s Antarctic expedition (5). With the aid of sponsors such as Earhart, Byrd set out for the South Pole later that same year, in what was described as one of the largest and most expensive expeditions in the history of Antarctic exploration (6). Over the two years that Byrd and his team would spend on the Antarctic continent, they accomplished many feats. Byrd established a camp on the Ross Ice Shelf, named ‘Little America’ and conducted surveys of the land, collecting important data about the continent while preparing for his flight to the South Pole.

Black and white image of Richard Byrd sitting with each hand on an oar in a small inflatable raft in a body of water. — Lt. R.E. Byrd, U.S.N, in rubber life boat, 4/27/1925 -- Library of Congress

On November 28, 1929, Byrd would take off in his airplane, the ‘Floyd Bennett,’ determined to reach the South Pole (7). This flight was an uncontested success, cementing Byrd’s image in the public eye as an innovative figure in the field of polar research and exploration. This status would help Byrd to lead a second expedition to the Antarctic from 1933-1935 and facilitate future collaborations with the United States Government on a myriad of polar projects over the years (8). Byrd, like Earhart and many other aviators of his day, illustrated the intrepid spirit that was necessary to make progress in an era of daring aeronautical breakthroughs. Along the way, he saw friends and colleagues soar to success and fall victim to dangerous experimental technologies, all of whose efforts helped to usher in the field of aeronautics as it is known today.

Endnotes

Hofstra. “Richard E. Byrd and the Legacy of Polar Exploration,” 137-152.
ibid.
Bown. The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen, 290.
Earhart. The Fun of It, 52.
Earhart, 20 hrs., 40 min., 286.
“The Byrd 1928 Antarctic Expedition.“ https://course-exhibits.library.dartmouth.edu/s/ENVS15_24F/page/Thomas-Mulroy-1.
ibid.
Teuscher. “The Cold, Cold War: Rear Admiral Richard Byrd, Antarctic Expeditions, and the Evolution of America’s Strategic Interest in the Polar Regions.”