Richard E. Byrd

Also known as Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Jr., Admiral Byrd

American naval officer, explorer (1888-1957)

OverviewAI-generated

Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888–1957) was an American explorer, military officer, oceanographer, and aircraft pilot. Born in Winchester, he served as a rear admiral in the United States Navy and participated in both World War I and World War II. Byrd was educated at the University of Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute, and the United States Naval Academy. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Medal of Honor, Freedom Award, and Hubbard Medal.

Byrd’s written works include *Skyward*, *Exploring with Byrd*, *Discovery; the story of the second Byrd Antarctic Expedition*, *The Big Aviation Book for Boys*, and *Alone*. He is recognized in the Legion Of Merit collection. Byrd died in Boston and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, TMDb, Wikiquote, Open Library, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Known for

Into Little America — Self1935
With Byrd at the South Pole — Himself1930
The Bottom of the World — Himself1930

via TMDB

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Evelyn
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Winchester
Place of death: Boston
Sibling: Harry F. Byrd
Occupation: aircraft pilot
Educated at: United States Naval Academy
Languages spoken: English language
Conflict: World War II
Military branch: United States Navy
Military rank: rear admiral
Image: Richard E. Byrd cph.3b17378.jpg
Residence: Winchester

Show 9 more facts

Commons category: Richard E. Byrd
date of birth: 1888-10-25
date of death: 1957-03-11
described by source: Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
birth name: Richard Evelyn Byrd
name in native language: Richard Evelyn Byrd
place of burial: Arlington National Cemetery
start of work period: 1912-00-00
member of: American Philosophical Society

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Richard E. Byrd” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.