Materials are arranged in the order created during the interview process with the first file containing notes created before, during, and after the interview.
Accession No. PA.2001.0011: William E. Long, 2001 April
[identification of item], William E. Long Oral History, SPEC.PA.56.0092, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University
Contains audiocassettes.
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Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2020 October; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2021 February
Dr. William Ellis Long (1930-) spent the International Geophysical Year of 1957 to 1959 at Byrd Station in Antarctica as the glaciologist. He briefly attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied geology, but primarily focused on extracurricular rock climbing, which he became known for. Circa 1950, Long enlisted in the United States Air Force as a result of the Korean War, and became a survival instructor for the Air Force in Nevada. Prior to his discharge in 1954, the Air Force assigned Long to join an expedition to the Himalayan Mountains, which ended up being the first known attempt to climb Makalu, the fourth highest mountain peak in the world. Following his Air Force discharge, Long began school at the University of Nevada at Reno in 1955, graduating in 1957 with a Bachelors in geology.
While in school in Nevada, Long became involved with the California Cooperative Snow Survey, which was a group that measured snow pack in the Sierra Mountains over the winter. Through this group, Long met a man named Dr. James Church, who recommended he apply to work in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY), for the period of 1957-1959. Long was hired as a glaciologist, and after training, went on to Antarctica, where he worked primarily collecting data.
Following the IGY, Long received his Masters and PhD from The Ohio State University; he began teaching at Alaska Methodist University in 1965, and taught there until 1978, when he began working as an independent contractor for geological and conservation projects in Alaska; other than this, Long's activities after 1978 are unknown.
The William E. Long Oral History, dated 2000-2001, contains audio recordings, administrative information, and transcripts of the interview between Dr. Long and Karen Brewster of the American Polar Society conducted on April 28, 2001. This interview was a part of a series of polar oral histories sponsored by the American Polar Society and Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, with funding from the National Science Foundation. Major topics discussed include Long's rock climbing, his time as a survival instructor in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, his school experiences, and his trip to Antarctica to gather geological information for the International Geophysical Year (1957-1959.)