RIchard Evelyn Byrd Collection

28 WFCHS

Inventory created by Archives Staff on 09/1980. Last Revised 04/2022.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers.

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

EXTENT: 1.47 linear feet

DATES: 1907-1997

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Richard Evelyn Byrd Collection contains correspondence, photographs, news clippings, awards, newsletters, speeches and other materials relevant to Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1880-1979) and his expeditions to Antarctica. Also included is an atlas called Polar Regions, which provides an in-depth comparison of the two Polar Regions.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: Richard Evelyn Byrd was born in Winchester, VA on October 25, 1881, son of Richard Evelyn Byrd II and Eleanor Bolling Flood. At the early age of 12, having a thirst for adventure, he persuaded his parents to permit him to make an unattended trip around the world. After two years at Virginia Military Institute and one year at the University of Virginia, he was admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy on May 28, 1908. He became interested in exploration and undertook a number of long-distance flights across the Atlantic and the North and South Poles. He organized five expeditions to the Antarctic. During World War II, Byrd served on the staff of the chief of naval operations.

Byrd became a national figure through his explorations and his expeditions advanced the fields of aviation technology, reconnaissance, and aerial photography. His work also produced significant new findings about the Antarctic region. Byrd married Marie Donaldson Ames on January 20, 1915. They had four children. Admiral Byrd died in his sleep on March 11, 1957 in Boston, Massachusetts.

RELATED MATERIAL: Media Collection, 1306 THL (Discovery)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Quarles, Garland. Some Worthy Lives. Winchester, VA: Winchester­ Frederick County Historical Society, 1988.

CITE AS: Richard E. Byrd Collection, 28 WFCHS, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA.

ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift.

ORGANIZATION:

BOX 1

Bookplate of Richard Evelyn Byrd

March Music - "Return of Commander Byrd Military March for Piano" by Claude Hackelton, The Boston Music Company, Boston, MA, n.d. (1930s), 3 pages, printed; "North to the Future, Musical Reflections on Alaska's History", 2 leaves, typescript

Plaque, U.S.S. Richard E. Byrd, from the crew in memory of RADM Richard E. Byrd, 1 item

Photographs of Admiral Byrd and his expeditions, available from the National Archives, National Geographic Society, and other institutions, 81 leaves, photocopies, 1927-1957

Photographs of Admiral Byrd and his expeditions, unnumbered items, black and white photographs, 1927-1957

1907-Speech, Richard Evelyn Byrd, June 10, 1907, "What Have the Public Schools Done for the Negro and What Can They Do?" 1 item, printed

1926-Celebration of Byrd's Flight, June 23, 1926, 5 items (folder includes the following): Invitation, 1 leaf, printed

Entrance ticket, 1 leaf, printed Envelope, manuscript

Letters of correspondence, 2 leaves, typescript

1926-"Conquerors of the North Pole," pamphlet, compliments of John Wanamaker, Philadelphia, 1 item, printed

1926-1930-Newspaper articles, unnumbered items, printed (photocopy)

1927-Newspaper articles, transatlantic flight, June 30, 1927, 6 printed

1928-1930, commemorative coins, 1 silver color, 1 gold color, commemorating the Byrd Antarctic Expedition

Magazine articles, 8 items, unnumbered pages, printed, 1930-1957

1930-Handley High School homecoming honoring Byrd, June 22, 1930, program, 2 copies, 1 leaf, typescript

1930-"Highlights of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, produced by the Tide Water Oil Company NY, 1 item, printed; 1 leaf, typescript

1930---South Pole Picture Book, by Captain Ashley McKinley (1930], published by Samuel Miller, New York, 1 item, printed

1936---Correspondence to Rotary Club of Winchester, May 10, 1936, 1 leaf, manuscript (photocopy)

1936-Honors and awards presented to Richard E. Byrd, catalog of items sold by Sotheby's, 1 item, printed; 14 loose pages, printed

1956-Address to 65th Continental Congress of National Society-D.A.R.

Movie ad, "Discovery," 3 copies, 1 leaf, printed

BOX 2

News clippings and magazine articles, 111mumbered pages, printed (photocopy), 1962-present

1928-1930-"The Work of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition 1928-1930," written by W.L.G. Joerg for the America11 Geographical Society (1930); 1 item, 70 pages, printed

1930 - National Geographic magazine -"The Conquest of Antarctica by Air" by Richard Evelyn Byrd, pgs. 127-227; "Admiral Byrd Receives New Honor from Society", pgs. 228-238, August, 1930, Vol.43, Number 2.

1939-Current Events - National School Newspaper (folder contains the following):
Week of September 25-29, 1939, "Uncle Sam sends Admiral Byrd to Stake Our Claim in Antarctica"
Week of November 6-10. 1939, p. 3 photo of snow cruiser Admiral. Byrd will take to Antarctica
Week of Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 1939, p. 3 x-ray view of a giant snow cruiser going to Antarctica

1971 - Commemorative Coin, Richard Byrd, Gallery of Great Americans

1974-The Iron Worker-"Richard Evelyn Byrd-Polar Explorer," 1 item, printed

1978-Polar Regions Atlas, Central Intelligence Agency, May 1978, 1 item, printed

1979-50th anniversary flight to the South Pole, October 10, 1979 - Resolution of Appreciation and Commemoration by Frederick County Board of Supervisors, 3 leaves, typescript

l 979-50th anniversary flight to the South Pole, commemorative medals, 1 item

1979-50th anniversary flight to the South Pole -National Science Foundation publications (folder contains the following):
Status of Science Review, Polar Programs, 1979 7 pages, printed
Antarctic Journal for September 1977; December 1977; March/June 1978; September 1978;December 1978; June 1979; October 1978, 7 volumes, printed
Mosaic, Volume 9, No. 5, September/October 1978, 1 volume, printed

1979-50th anniversary flight to the South Pole, 1979 (folder contains the following):

Program of event held by Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, November 15, 1979, 1 item, printed

Biographical sketch of Richard E. Byrd, 1 page, printed Addresses of special guests, 5 leaves, manuscript (photocopy)

Antarctican Society newsletter, 1979-1980, No. 3, January, 1 item, 8 pages, printed Antarctican Society envelope, 1 item, printed

Air and Space, newsletter of National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Volume 3, No. 1, September-October 1979, 1 item, 6 pages, printed

1979-Gould, Laurence McKinley - biographical sketch and newspaper article, published in a supplement to the Cosmos Club Bulletin, 1979, 4 pages, printed (photocopy); 1 leaf, printed

1980-Byrd statue, Winchester, 3 items, Sketch, I leaf (photocopy); Scale Drawing, Oct. 27, 1981, 1 leaf; news articles, 2 items, 4 leaves, printed (photocopy)

1980-Richard E. Byrd Memorial Fund stationery, envelopes, [1980], 10 sheets of stationary, 3 envelopes

1985-Children's tributes to Byrd, 2 items, printed

1994-"Richard E. Byrd and the Legacy of Polar Exploration," lecture series, September­ October 1994, schedule of lectures, I page, printed

1997-Byrd statue, Winchester, dedication program, July 14, 1997, 5 items, 4 pages, printed

BOX 2A-Books

Discovery, by Richard E. Byrd, 1935, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York

Little America, by Richard E. Byrd, 1930, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York

BOX 3

Scrapbook of news articles covering Admiral Byrd's Expedition to Antarctic, 1928-1930

OVERSIZE

MAPCASE 1, DRAWER 17

Telegrams between Richard E. Byrd and citizens of Winchester, 1926

Proposed statue rendering

Posters of 50th anniversary, first flight to the South Pole, 2 items, printed

50th anniversary flight to the South Pole-calendar, published by the United States Antarctic Research Program, 1979, 2 items, printed