Guide to the S. Edward Roos Papers, 1928-1999, 2009, bulk 1928-1991 SPEC.PA.56.0023 Finding aid prepared by Audrey Wimbiscus Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2026 April This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2026-05-13T10:40-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard S. Edward Roos Papers SPEC.PA.56.0023 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 2.84 Cubic feet Bulk, 1928-1991 1928-1999, 2009, bulk 1928-1991 Sven Edward Roos (1907-1984) was an American sailor who went on both Byrd Antarctic Expedition I (1928-1930) and Byrd Antarctic Expedition II (1933-1935) to Antarctica. The S. Edward Roos Papers date from 1928-1999 and 2009, with the bulk of materials dating between 1928-1991; incidental materials related to Roos but dating after his death were kept by his son. The collection consists of items created and collected by Roos over the course of his sailing career, such as notebooks, ship service records, correspondence, United States Merchant Marine medals and uniform decorations, and his Byrd Antarctic Expedition II Guernsey Cattle Club medal. (3) oversize flat boxes; (1) carton English, Swedish Roos, Sven Edward, 1907-1984 Arrangement of Materials

The S. Edward Roos Papers are arranged in chronological order, with items with the same date further arranged in alphabetical order by item title.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. PA.1998.0010: David Roos, 1998 December; Accession No. PA.2009.0016: David Roos, 2009 August

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], S. Edward Roos Papers, SPEC.PA.56.0023, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2026 April; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2026 April

 Biographical Note

Sven Edward Roos (1907-1984) was an American sailor who went on both Byrd Antarctic Expedition I (1928-1930) and Byrd Antarctic Expedition II (1933-1935) to Antarctica. He was born in Sweden, immigrated to the United States as a child, and started his sailing career at age 15 as an apprentice merchant seamen in the United States Merchant Marine. During Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, Roos served as a crew member on Admiral Byrd's flagship, the City of New York; during Byrd Antarctic Expedition II, he served as an oceanographer and chief of hydrographic surveys aboard the United States Ship Bear. Between the Byrd Antarctic Expeditions, Roos was a crew member on the Atlantis, a research ship affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

In 1938, Roos joined the Standard Oil Company (also known as Esso) as a boatswain on the company's oil tankers. During World War II while in the United States Merchant Marines he survived two U-boat torpedo attacks on ships named the Esso and Mowinckel. Following World War II, Roos joined the Moore-McCormack Lines company as a captain; he joined Sea-Land Lines in 1962, and retired from sailing in 1970.

 Scope and Contents

The S. Edward Roos Papers date from 1928-1999 and 2009, with the bulk of materials dating between 1928-1991; incidental materials related to Roos and his career dated after his death were kept by his son. The rest of the collection consists of items created and collected by Roos over the course of his sailing career, including notebooks from his trips to Antarctica during Byrd Antarctic Expeditions I and II, a photograph album from Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, ship service records spanning his entire career, and correspondence and newsletters from fellow members of the Byrd Antarctic Expeditions. Also included are newspaper clippings about the ships he was on that survived torpedo attacks, research about other ships he had sailed on in his career, a Swedish Admiral Byrd obituary clipping, and photocopies of the Roos Papers at the United States National Archives. Finally, the collection contains Roos's medals and uniform decorations from the United States Merchant Marine, his World War II Victory Medal, Byrd Antarctic Expedition II Guernsey Cattle Club medal, cap badge and shoulder boards, and two Freemason rings. These items arrived in a military medal rolled storage pouch, with Roos's service award bars pinned to it; these bars remain attached to the pouch.

 Related Materials Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers Byrd Antarctic Expedition I Collection Byrd Antarctic Expedition II Collection Bear of Oakland (Ship) Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1st: 1928-1930) Byrd Antarctic Expedition (2nd: 1933-1935) Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957 City of New York (Ship) Roos, Sven Edward, 1907-1984 Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--American--20th century Commemorative medals Explorers--Antarctica--20th century Field notes Icebreakers (Ships)--United States--20th century Merchant marine--United States Merchant mariners--United States--20th century Merchant ships--United States--20th century Military pins Newspaper clippings Photograph albums Sailing--Antarctica--20th century Scientific expeditions--Antarctica--20th century World War, 1939-1945--Press coverage--United States "Antarctica Notes" notebook 1 1 1928-1930 Byrd Antarctic Expedition I photograph album 2 1928-1930 "City of New York" ship photograph 3 1 1928-1930 Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, Byrd Antarctic Expedition II landscape, Roos portrait photographs 1 2 1928-1935 Field notebooks 1 3-4 1928-1935 Ship at sea photograph 3 2 1928-1935 Ship service records 1 5 1929-1960 Correspondence with and clippings on participants of Byrd Antarctic Expeditions I and II 1 6 1929-1995 Joerg (W. L. G.) "The Work of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition I" 1 7 1930 The Great Navy of the State of Nebraska Admiral S. E. Roos appointment certificate 3 3 1931 October 10 Byrd (Richard E.) in naval uniform portrait photograph 3 4 1933 R.R.S. "Discovery II" and the "Bear" on Byrd Antarctic Expedition II, Ross Sea photograph 3 5 1934 February Byrd Antarctic Expedition II American Guernsey Cattle Club medal 4 1 1935 May "The Geographical Review" volume 27, number 4 1 8 1937 October Freemasons red enamel and gold ring 4 2 circa 1940s United States Merchant Marine buttons 4 3 circa 1940s Military medal rolled storage pouch with service award bars attached 4 4 1940s United States Merchant Marine office bullion cap badge 4 5 1940s United States Merchant Marine shoulder boards 4 6 1940s "Esso," "Mowinckel" U-boat attack clippings 1 9 1942-1943, 1966, 2009 Biographical information 1 10 1944-1998 World War II United States Merchant Marine service medal 4 7 1945 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute ship research 1 11 1950-1959 "Syd -och Nordpolens besegrare har avlidit" Richard E. Byrd newspaper clipping 3 6 1957 March 13 Swedish language version of Byrd's obituary. Freemasons sterling silver ring 4 8 1960s Byrd Antarctic Expedition I member newsletters 1 12-13 1969-1984 "The Polar Times" 1 14-15 1969-1999 "The Antarctican Society" newsletters 1 16-17 1979 January-1991 April National Archives S. Edward Roos Papers (1928-1960) photocopies 3 7 1998