Finn Ronne (December 20, 1899 – January 12, 1980) was a Norwegian-born U.S. citizen and

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

explorer.

Background

Finn Ronne was born in

Horten Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...

, in

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. His father, Martin Rønne (1861–1932), was a polar explorer who served in

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

's successful expedition to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

. Ronne received his education in engineering at Horten Technical College. In 1923 Finn Ronne immigrated to the U.S. and gained citizenship in 1929. After working at Westinghouse Electric Corporation for some years, he took part in two of Richard E. Byrd's expeditions to the South Pole, and in 1939 Ronne served as Byrd's executive officer helping discover one thousand miles of new coastline. After serving several years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, gaining the rank of captain, Ronne returned to Antarctica in the 1940s, with support of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

as the leader of the

Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) was an expedition from 1947–1948 which researched the area surrounding the head of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. Background Finn Ronne led the RARE which was the final privately sponsored exp ...

. From 1946 to 1948 his team mapped and explored the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha C ...

coastline and set a number of polar records. Ronne covered 3,600 miles by ski and

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow, a practice known as mushing. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for Sled dog racing, dog sl ...

—more than any other explorer in history. His wife Edith Ronne accompanied him on this expedition, serving as "historian and correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance". She and the chief pilot's wife Jennie Darlington were the first women to overwinter in Antarctica. In the 1950s, the Navy organized Operation Deepfreeze to complete the mapping of Antarctica and establish centers for scientific research. Ronne became the scientific and military leader for a U.S. Weddell Sea base. During his lifetime he wrote several books on Antarctica and many scientific papers on Antarctic research. He received three

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s and numerous military awards for service, for geographical exploration and for the advancement of science. He was awarded the St. Olav's Medal by the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...

. At his death in 1980, in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, he was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. The Finn Ronne Memorial Award is awarded by the Explorers Club to an individual noted for accomplishments in polar field research that best typify the spirit of Finn Ronne.

References

Bibliography

*
Biography: Captain Finn Ronne, Naval Historical Center - Primary source
* '' Antarctic Conquest'' (1949) (with L. Sprague de Camp, uncredited) * ''Antarctic Command'' (1958) * ''Ronne Expedition to Antarctica'' (1970) * ''Antarctica, My Destiny'' (1979)

External links

"Science: World's End"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. April 26, 1948. * Ronne, Finn (November 12, 1947)
"Ronne Flight 'Erases' Weddell Sea Isles"
North American Newspaper Alliance. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. * Ronne, Finn (November 30, 1947)
"Ronne Fills in Map of Weddell Coast; Flight Charts a 100,000-Mile Area of Antarctica -- 2 Planes Out Almost 30 Hours: Camera Records Findings: Explorer Names Region, Lying South of Palmer Peninsula, the Edith Ronne Land"
North American Newspaper Alliance. ''The New York Times''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronne, Finn 1899 births 1980 deaths People from Horten Norwegian explorers of Antarctica United States Navy officers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Norwegian emigrants to the United States Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal American Polar Society honorary members American explorers of Antarctica

Background

References

Bibliography

See also

External links