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Louise Arner Boyd
last update: Jun 11, 2009 04:27 PM
16 September 1887 (San Rafael, California) – 14 September 1972 (San Francisco, California)
Interesting Trivia
- Presented to the King and Queen of England in 1925
- Awarded the Chevalier Cross of the Order of Saint Olav by King Haakon VII of Norway
- First woman to visit Franz Josef Land
- Louise Boyd Land on Greenland’s east coast named in her honor
- Led expeditions with the U.S. government to Greenland during World War II
- First woman to fly over the geographic North Pole
- One of her quotes: "I like the pleasant things most women enjoy, even if I do wear breeches and boots on an expedition, even sleep in them at times.... but I powder my nose before going on deck, no matter how rough the sea is."
Her Story:
Louise Arner Boyd used her inherited wealth to become a pioneering Arctic explorer. She began her travels in 1924, visiting the Arctic aboard a Norwegian cruise ship headed to Spitsbergen. In 1926 she chartered the ship, the M.S. Hobby, with friends and gained worldwide attention for her hunting of polar bears and seals. She also became the first woman to visit the Arctic islands of Franz Josef Land.
Boyd hired the Hobby again in 1928, but immediately turned it over to search efforts for the missing explorer Roald Amundsen. Amundsen disappeared in a plane during his own search for the stranded Umberto Nobile and his crew, who were eventually rescued. Amundsen was never found, but Boyd logged thousands of miles in the search and received the Chevalier Cross of the Order of Saint Olav from King Haakon VII of Norway for her efforts. She was the first non-Norwegian woman to receive the Cross.
Boyd continued to undertake expeditions through the Arctic through the 1930s. She did photographic studies and collected data on flora, fauna and geology—most notably on Greenland’s De Geer Glacier, after which the adjoining region was named Louise Boyd Land in her honor.
In 1949, Boyd received a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Army for her financing and leadership on expeditions to Greenland during World War II. Data collected on radio wave transmissions helped ensure reliable communication between U.S. planes, ships and submarines.
Boyd maintained her socially prominent status in California and was active in the San Rafael and San Francisco communities. Boyd was the first woman elected to the Council of the American Geographical Society and was also made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France. Along with recognition by organizations such as the California Academy of Sciences, the Society of Women Geographers and the American Polar Society, Boyd had posts with the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco chapter of the American Red Cross.
In 1955, Boyd fulfilled her aspiration of crossing the North Pole. She flew in a chartered plane at the age of 67 in the first private flight and as the first woman to make the trip. The Louise A. Boyd Natural Science Museum was named in her honor in the 1960s, which eventually became the California Center for Wildlife.
At Boyd’s request after her death at the age of 85, a longtime friend and fellow expedition team member scattered her ashes over the North Pole.
Books:
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The Fiord Regions of East Greenland (1935)
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Polish Countrysides (1937)
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The Coast of Northeast Greenland, With Hydrographic Studies in the Greenland Sea. The Louise A. Boyd Arctic Expeditions of 1937 and 1938. (1948)
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Louise Arner Boyd: Arctic Explorer (200) - Publisher Morgan Reynolds
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Women Explorers in Polar Regions : Louise Arner Boyd, Kate Marsden, Ida Pfeiffer, Helen Thayer, Agnes Deans Cameron (Capstone Short Biographies)
McLoone, Margo/ McLoone-Basta, Margo (COR) Capstone Pr Inc (1997/06)
Sources:
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http://research.calacademy.org/research/library/special/bios/Boyd.htm
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http://www.femexplorers.com/full_article.php?article_id=25
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http://www.marinhistory.org/article2.html
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http://www.bestofukiah.com/callofthearctic.html
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Obituary: Louise Arner Boyd (1887-1972), by Walter A. Wood and A. Lincoln Washburn Geographical Review © 1973 American Geographical Society.
