2019-08-06 Guide to the Carl O. Petersen Papers, 1920-circa 1930s SPEC.PA.56.0197 Finding aid prepared by Andrew Cline Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2019 June This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2019-08-20T09:11-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Carl O. Petersen Papers SPEC.PA.56.0197 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.2 Cubic feet 1920-circa 1930s Carl O. Petersen was a Norwegian immigrant who served as radio operator on Admiral Richard E. Byrd's First and Second Antarctic Expeditions. Petersen had been employed radio operations for both commercial and governmental operations in Europe for several years prior to moving to America and meeting Byrd in 1926. The Carl O. Petersen Papers, dated 1920-circa 1930s, contain correspondence sent from Admiral Richard E. Byrd to Petersen and his wife, clippings from American periodicals and one French periodical on the Byrd Antarctic Expeditions, two blank fleet naval reserve radio logs, a photograph of penguins and a ship docked in Antarctica, and an 1920 photograph of Petersen in military uniform in the West Indies. (1) 2.5" letter document box English, French Petersen, Carl O. Arrangement of Materials

This collection is arranged chronologically, and alphabetically by given title within the same date.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. PA.2010.0008: Dr. Keith Phillips, 2010 October

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Carl O. Petersen Papers, SPEC.PA.56.0197, 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: Andrew Cline, 2019 June; Finding aid written by: Andrew Cline, 2019 June

 Biographical Note

Carl O. Petersen was a Norwegian immigrant who served as radio operator on Admiral Richard E. Byrd's First and Second Antarctic Expeditions. Petersen had been employed in this capacity for several years prior to his work with Byrd, for both commercial and governmental operations in Europe. During his career, Petersen also gained experience with whaling operations and sled dog handling. At the time that Petersen and Byrd first met, Petersen was employed as a supervisor for the balancing and testing of radio receivers at the All American Radio Corporation in Chicago, Illinois, where he had relocated in 1926.

 Scope and Contents

The Carl O. Petersen Papers, dated 1920-circa 1930s, contains correspondence sent from Admiral Richard E. Byrd to Petersen and his wife, clippings from American periodicals and one French periodical on the Byrd Antarctic Expeditions, two blank fleet naval reserve radio logs, a photograph of penguins and a ship docked in Antarctica, and an 1920 photograph of Petersen in military uniform in the West Indies.

 Related Materials Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1st: 1928-1930). Byrd Antarctic Expedition (2nd: 1933-1935). Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957 -- Correspondence Petersen, Carl O. Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--American--20th century Explorers--Antarctica--20th century Radio operators--Antarctica--20th century Petersen in military uniform, St. Thomas, West Indies photograph 1 1 1920 September Penguins and ship docked in Antarctica photograph 1 2 circa 1928 "L'Expedition Byrd Au Pole Sud" in L'Illustration 1 3 1930 May 10 French "The Brave Men and Leader of the Antarctic Expedition Return to Face New York's Famous Welcome" in the Kansas City Star 1 4 1930 June 29 Byrd (Richard E.) correspondence received 1 5 1930 September 22 Byrd (Richard E.) correspondence received 1 6 1931 July, September "Brooklyn Masons Honor a Renowned Brother: Bernt Balcher" clipping picturing Petersen 1 7 circa 1931 "Little America Antarctica" map clipping 1 8 circa 1931 Byrd (Richard E.) correspondence received by Mrs. Carl Petersen 1 9 1932 August 25 Byrd (Richard E.) correspondence received 1 10 1933 September 23 "Antarctic Cold Preserved Little America Intact for Admiral Byrd" clipping 1 11 circa 1936 Fleet naval reserve blank radio logs 1 12 circa 1930s