Vivian Fuchs
Sir Vivian Fuchs | |
---|---|
Born | Vivian Ernest Fuchs 11 February 1908 Freshwater, Isle of Wight, England |
Died | 11 November 1999 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England | (aged 91)
Education | Brighton College |
Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge |
Spouses |
|
Children | 3 |
Sir Vivian Ernest Fuchs FRS (/fʊks/ FUUKS; 11 February 1908 – 11 November 1999) was an English scientist-explorer and expedition organizer. He led the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition which reached the South Pole overland in 1958.
Biography
Fuchs was the son of the German immigrant Ernst Fuchs from the
In February 1936, his daughter Hilary was born. Fuchs organised an expedition to investigate the Lake Rukwa basin in southern Tanzania in 1937. He returned in 1938 to find that his second daughter, Rosalind, had severe cerebral palsy. Rosalind died in 1945. His son, Peter, was born in 1940.
At the age of thirty, he enrolled in the
Fuchs was involved with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (now the British Antarctic Survey) beginning in 1947, when he applied for a geologist position. The institute's goal was to promote Britain's claims to Antarctica, and secondarily to support scientific research. In 1950 Fuchs was asked to develop the new London scientific bureau of the Survey, to plan research in the Antarctic and support research publication. After the trans-Antarctic expedition he become director of the Survey, a position he held until 1973.
From 1982 through 1984, Fuchs was president of the Royal Geographical Society. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974.[2]
Family
In 1933, he had married his cousin Joyce Connell, who had accompanied him on several expeditions. They had three children: Hilary (1936-2002) Rosalind (1938–1945), and Peter (born 1940). Joyce, Lady Fuchs, died on 27 April 1990 in Oxford, of a heart attack, aged 83.
The next year, in 1991, he married Eleanor Honnywill, his former personal assistant at the British Antarctic Survey, in Kensington and Chelsea, London.
Death
Sir Vivian Fuchs died in Cambridge[3] on 11 November 1999, aged 91.
The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Fuchs is best known as the leader of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, a
Fuchs and his party arrived in Antarctica in January 1957 after camp had been set up. The party departed from
In 1958, he was knighted by
Legacy
- The Fuchs Medal was created in 1973 for "outstanding devotion to the British Antarctic Survey's interests, beyond the call of normal duty, by men or women who are or were members of the Survey, or closely connected with its work." It is awarded to one or two people per year.
- Fuchs Dome in the Shackleton Range, Antarctica.
- Fuchs Ice Piedmont on Adelaide Island, Antarctica.
References
- ^ ""Fuchs, Sir Vivian Ernest. ( 1908-1999) Knight Explorer" - Search - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- .
- ^ Deaths and Marriages England and Wales 1984–2006
- ^ "No. 41388". The London Gazette. 16 May 1958. p. 3090.
- OCLC 963764022.
- ^ "(in Danish)". Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
External links
- Media related to Vivian Fuchs at Wikimedia Commons
- Clarkson, Peter. "Fuchs, Sir Vivian Ernest (1908–1999)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/73181. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- "Scott Base Turns Out To Greet Dr. Fuchs." The Times, 3 March 1958; pg. 9.
- Fuchs medal named in his honour
- Scott Polar Research Institute – Obituary of Vivian Fuchs
- Sir Vivian Fuchs website biography