2026-3-5 Guide to the Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Collection, circa 1926 May-after 1926 June, 1995 SPEC.PA.56.0253 Finding aid prepared by Audrey Wimbiscus Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2026 February This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2026-06-08T10:18-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Collection SPEC.PA.56.0253 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.5 Cubic feet circa 1926 May-after 1926 June, 1995 On May 9, 1926, Admiral Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett took off from Spitsbergen, Norway on a round-trip flight to the North Pole and back; they were the first humans to fly over the North Pole. The Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Collection contains materials both from and about Byrd's North Pole Flight, including photographs by an unknown photographer of Byrd, Bennett, and unidentified expedition members preparing for the flight, an oil painting of the airplane used for the flight, and programs for events honoring Byrd and celebrating the flight, dated circa 1926 May through after 1926 June. It also contains two 1995 photocopies of essays written in circa 1960s and 1975 regarding the validity of the flight. (1) 2.5" letter document box; (1) framed item English Arrangement of Materials

The Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Collection is arranged in chronological order; items with the same date are further arranged in alphabetical order by title.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. PA.1995.0002: Robert Matuozzi, Dianne Sundblom, 1995 February; Accession No. PA.1996.0005: Lowney McCormick, 1996 October; Accession No. PA.2012.0010: Purchased, 2012 May; Accession No. PA.2013.0008: Patrick Bonsignore, 2013 August

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Collection, SPEC.PA.56.0253, 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 February; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2026 February

 Historical Note

On May 9, 1926, Admiral Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett took off from Spitsbergen, Norway on a round-trip flight to the North Pole in a Fokker Tri-Motor airplane named the Josephine Ford. The expedition was funded by the Ford Motor Company and John D. Rockefeller. Byrd and Bennett spent a total of 15 hours and 57 minutes in the air,with 13 minutes spent circling the North Pole, a distance of 1535 miles from Spitsbergen. They were the first people to fly over the North Pole. Upon their return to the United States from the Arctic, Byrd and Bennett were both awarded the Medal of Honor and honored by an act of Congress.

Since 1926, there has been debate by the scientific community over whether it was physically possible for Byrd and Bennett to have reached the North Pole in the amount of time stated, based on the stated airspeed of the plane and the sextant sights taken during the trip. If they were not the first to reach the North Pole, then the first flight over the Pole occurred on May 12, 1926; that flight, in an airship named the Norge, was led by Roald Amundsen and also took off from Spitsbergen, Norway, but ended the journey in Alaska.

 Scope and Contents

The Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Collection contains materials both from and about Byrd's North Pole Flight on May 9, 1926, some of which date before or after the flight. The collection contains black and white photographs by an unknown photographer of Admiral Byrd, Floyd Bennett, and unidentified expedition members preparing for the flight, as well as a painting of the airplane used for the flight, and programs for events honoring Byrd and celebrating the flight; these materials date from circa 1926 May to after 1926 June. Also included are two 1995 photocopies of essays regarding the validity of the flight. One is by Epaminondas "Pete" Demas, one of Byrd's expedition members who remained on the ground in Spitsbergen, Norway, and was written in 1975. The other essay is by Bernt Balchen and written circa 1960s; while he was not a member of Byrd's expedition, Balchen was also on the ground in Spitsbergen, Norway at the time as a part of the ground crew for Roald Amundsen's May 12, 1926 flight over the North Pole in the dirigible Norge.

 Related Materials Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers Press Photograph of Aviation Pioneers Taken at the Biltmore Hotel (New York) During “Famous Fliers Luncheon” Gerald Newsom Analysis of Byrd Arctic Expedition North Pole Flight Data Balchen, Bernt, 1899-1973 Bennett, Floyd, 1890-1928 Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957 Demas, Epaminondas James, 1905-1979 Josephine Ford (Trimotor) Air pilots, Military--North Pole--20th century Airplanes--Piloting--North Pole--20th century Black-and-white photographs Essays Explorers--North Pole--20th century North Pole--Aerial exploration--20th century North Pole--Discovery and exploration--American--20th century Oil paintings (visual works) Expedition photographs by unknown photographer 1 1 circa 1926 May Josephine Ford oil painting 1 after 1926 May 9 "Carnegie Hall: New York's Testimonial to Richard E. Byrd" program 1 2 1926 June 25 "Conquerors of the North Pole" Wanamaker Department Store pamphlet 1 3 after 1926 June Balchen (Bernt) "The Strange Enigma of Admiral Byrd" circa 1960s photocopy 1 4 1995 Demas (Epaminondas "Pete") "Byrd's North Pole Flight" 1975 photocopy 1 5 1995