Finn Ronne

Finn Rønne was a Norwegian-born U.S. citizen and Antarctic explorer. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1923 and became a citizen in 1929. He worked as an engineer at Westinghouse Electric Corporation before joining two of Richard E. Byrd's expeditions to the South Pole in the 1930s. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and attained the rank of captain. He led his own expedition, the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, from 1946 to 1948, during which he and his team mapped and explored the Weddell Sea coastline and set several polar records. His wife Edith accompanied him on this expedition and became one of the first women to overwinter in Antarctica. In the 1950s, he participated in Operation Deepfreeze, a Navy project to complete the mapping of Antarctica and establish scientific research centers. He wrote several books and articles on Antarctic exploration and received many awards and honors for his achievements, including the St. Olav's Medal from the King of Norway. He died in 1980 in Bethesda, Maryland, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.