| Richard Evelyn Byrd |
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Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, USN ( October 25 , 1888 – March 11 , 1957 ) was a pioneering American polar explorer and famous aviator. Richard Evelyn Byrd was born into one of Virginia's First Families in Winchester, Virginia , and is a direct descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. His parents were Richard Evelyn Byrd and Eleanor Bolling Flood. A descendant of William Byrd II of Westover Plantation (founder of Richmond, Virginia ), his brother was Harry Flood Byrd who became a Governor Of Virginia and U.S. Senator . He has no relationship to West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd . Richard E. Byrd attended the Virginia Military Institute and the University Of Virginia before financial circumstances inspired his enrollment and graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1912. He learned to fly in World War I during his tour with the United States Navy . He developed a passion for flight, and pioneered many techniques for navigating airplanes over the open ocean including drift indicators and bubble sextants. His expertise in this area resulted in his appointment to plan the flight path for the U.S. Navy's 1919 Transatlantic crossing. Of the three Flying Boats that attempted it, only Albert Read 's aircraft the NC-4 completed the trip; becoming the first ever transatlantic flight. NORTH POLE FLIGHT, 1926 On May 9 , 1926 , Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett attempted a flight over the North Pole. They claimed to have achieved the pole. This trip earned Byrd widespread acclaim, including being awarded the Medal Of Honor , and enabled him to secure funding for subsequent attempts on the South Pole. |
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