Carl Benjamin "Ben" Eielson (July 20, 1897 – November 9, 1929) was an American

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormal ...

and

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

Eielson Air Force Base Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska. It was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field and redesignated Eielson Ai ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, Carl Ben Eielson Middle School

Fargo, ND Fargo is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 census, which was estimated to have grown to 133,188 in 2023, making it the 218th-most populous city ...

and Carl Ben Eielson Elementary School Grand Forks, ND as well as Ben Eielson Junior-Senior High School Eielson AFB, AK are named in his honor. In 1997 Carl Ben Eielson was inducted into the North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame.

Background

Carl Benjamin Eielson was born in

Hatton, North Dakota Hatton is a city in Traill County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 712 at the 2020 census. Hatton was founded in 1882, and was named for Frank Hatton, then Assistant Postmaster General. Hatton is the birthplace of 20th centur ...

to Norwegian immigrant parents. His interest in aviation went back to his childhood. Following the entry of the United States into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Eielson found his chance to become an aviator. Eielson learned to fly in the U.S. Army Air Service in 1917. In January 1918 he enlisted in the newly formed aviation section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. World War I ended while Eielson was in flight training. Eielson returned to North Dakota to help in his father's store and finish his degree at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

. During the winter of 1919–20, he and others founded the Hatton Aero Club, the first flying club in North Dakota. After graduating from the university in 1921, he enrolled at Georgetown Law School (now

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

) in Washington, D.C. Working part-time as a police officer at the Capitol, he met the

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; th ...

's delegate to the Congress, Daniel Sutherland, who persuaded Ben to go to Alaska to teach secondary school.

Career

Eielson soon became the sole pilot for the Farthest North Aviation Company which was formed in 1923. In 1924, he flew the first

air mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

in Alaska from Fairbanks to

McGrath, Alaska McGrath (''Tochak’'' in Upper Kuskokwim language, Upper Kuskokwim, ''Digenegh'' in Deg Xinag language, Deg Xinag) is a City (Alaska), city and village on the Kuskokwim River in Alaska, United States. The population was 301 at the 2020 Unite ...

in under 3 hours, a distance

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 ...

s took up to 30 days to cover. He also flew the first air mail from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

in 1926. In March 1927, Australian polar explorer

George Hubert Wilkins Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross afte ...

and Eielson explored the drift ice north of Alaska. They touched down in Eielson's airplane in the first land-plane descent onto drift ice. In April 1928, Eielson and Wilkins flew across the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

in the first flight from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

over the

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

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The flight, from

Point Barrow Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, northeast of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at , south of the North Pole. (The northe ...

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

, covered and took 20 hours. When Eielson accompanied Wilkins on an Antarctic expedition later in 1928, they became the first men to fly over both polar regions of the world in the same year. During the Antarctic summer of 1928–1929, Eielson and Wilkins made air explorations of the

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 ...

, charting several islands which were previously unknown. After his return from the Arctic flight, Eielson was asked to establish Alaskan Airways, a subsidiary of the Aviation Corporation of America. In 1929, Eielson died alongside his mechanic Earl Borland in an air crash in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

while attempting to evacuate furs and personnel from the ''Nanuk'', a cargo vessel trapped in the ice at North Cape (now Mys Shmidta). Their bodies were discovered on February 18, 1930.

Legacy

Carl Benjamin Eielson School and the

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

SS ''Carl B. Eielson'' are named in his honor, as is Mount Eielson and the new visitor center at

Denali National Park and Preserve Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is a List of national parks of the United States, United States national park and National preserve, preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali (feder ...

. The Carl Ben Eielson Memorial Building on the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-, sea-, and space-grant research university in College, Alaska, United States, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was e ...

Fairbanks campus is named in his honor. A peak in the West-Central Alaska Range is also named in his honor. An elementary school on

Grand Forks Air Force Base Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado, North Dakota, Emerado and west of Grand Forks, North Dakota, Grand Forks. The host unit is the 319th Air Base ...

in North Dakota is named after him as well as Ben Eielson High School on Eielson Air Force Base outside of

North Pole, Alaska North Pole is a small city in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Incorporated in 1953, it is part of the Fairbanks metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

, and Carl Ben Eielson Middle School in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

. The Carl Ben Eielson House in Hatton, North Dakota is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. and In 1929, he was awarded the

Harmon Trophy The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible). A fourth trophy, the "National Trophy", was awarded from 1926 through 1938 in av ...

. In 1984, Carl Ben Eielson was inducted into th
Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame
held each year during

Norsk Høstfest Norsk Høstfest (Norwegian language: "''Norwegian Autumn Festival (literally: Norwegian Harvest Festival)''") is an annual festival held each fall in Minot, North Dakota, US. It is North America's largest Scandinavian festival. History The event ...

Scandinavian festival in

Minot, N.D. Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

In 1985, he was enshrined in the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. In 1997, Carl Ben Eielson was a recipient of the state of North Dakota's

Roughrider Award The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award is an award presented by the governor of the state of North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bo ...

References

Other sources

*Wambheim, H.G. (1930) ''Ben: The Life Story of Col. Carl Ben Eielson'' (Hatton) *Rolfsrud, Erling Nicolai (1952) ''Brother to the Eagle'' (Lantern Books, Alexandria, MN) *Chandler, Edna Walker (1959) ''Pioneer of Alaska skies;: The story of Ben Eielson'' (Ginn) *Herron, Edward Albert (1968) ''Wings Over Alaska: The Story of Carl Ben Eielson'' (Pocket Books) *Gleason, Robert J. (1977) ''Icebound in the Siberian Arctic'' (Alaska Northwest Pub. Co) * Page, Dorothy G. (1992) ''Polar Pilot: The Carl Ben Eielson Story''. (Vero Media, Moorhead, MN)

External links