Finn Ronne Captain, United States Navy |
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| Born
in Horten, Norway on December 20, 1899, he studied at the Horten Technical
College. He moved to the United States and was employed by the Westinghouse
Electric Company, becoming an American citizen in 1929. He joined the United
States Navy and was closely associated with Polar Exploration.
He was a member of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd's second Antarctic Expedition (1933-35), was Chief of Staff on Byrd's Third Expedition (1939-40) and received Congressional Medals for each of these expeditions. In addition, the Ronne Ice Shell in Antarctica is named for him. Following duty with the Navy in World War II, he led a private expedition to the South Pole (1947-48). On his return he announced that he had proved that Antarctica was a single continent and not two islands. He died at Bethesda, Maryland, on January 12, 1980 and was buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery. Webmaster: Michael
Robert Patterson
Page Updated: 11 December 1999 Updated: 19 May 2001 Updated: 1 September 2002 Updated: 14 May 2004 Updated: 17 December 2005 |
Antarctic Medal |
