Folk Figure, Explorer, and Author. She was the first American woman to set foot on Antarctica, then wrote of her experiences. Raised in Maryland, she earned a degree in history from George Washington University, and married explorer Finn Ronne (deceased 1980) in 1941. In 1947, she accompanied her husband to Texas to see him off on his mission to Antarctica. The expedition was sponsored in-part by the North American Newspaper Alliance, and a portion of the duty was sending back regular dispatches, for which Captain Ronne lacked the necessary facility in English. She accepted an invitation to join the trip, and talked Jennie Darlington, wife of the pilot, Harry Darlington III, into coming along. During the next 15 months she wrote the obligatory articles, and helped the seismologist take the first measurements of an Antarctic earthquake. The two women also helped diffuse the interpersonal tensions resulting from extended time at close quarters (despite great scientific success). Depressed after the trip, Ronne vowed never to return; nevertheless she did, more than once. In 2004, she published her story, "Antarctica's First Lady." An Antarctic ice shelf was originally named "Edith Ronne," but, at her suggestion, it was later given its present name, "Filchner-Ronne." Ronne remained active until the final weeks of her life, and died in a Bethesda nursing facility.
Folk Figure, Explorer, and Author. She was the first American woman to set foot on Antarctica, then wrote of her experiences. Raised in Maryland, she earned a degree in history from George Washington University, and married explorer Finn Ronne (deceased 1980) in 1941. In 1947, she accompanied her husband to Texas to see him off on his mission to Antarctica. The expedition was sponsored in-part by the North American Newspaper Alliance, and a portion of the duty was sending back regular dispatches, for which Captain Ronne lacked the necessary facility in English. She accepted an invitation to join the trip, and talked Jennie Darlington, wife of the pilot, Harry Darlington III, into coming along. During the next 15 months she wrote the obligatory articles, and helped the seismologist take the first measurements of an Antarctic earthquake. The two women also helped diffuse the interpersonal tensions resulting from extended time at close quarters (despite great scientific success). Depressed after the trip, Ronne vowed never to return; nevertheless she did, more than once. In 2004, she published her story, "Antarctica's First Lady." An Antarctic ice shelf was originally named "Edith Ronne," but, at her suggestion, it was later given its present name, "Filchner-Ronne." Ronne remained active until the final weeks of her life, and died in a Bethesda nursing facility.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Inscription
Beloved Wife
Antarctic Pioneer
(Backside)
Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition 46 - 48
First Woman To Overwinter In Antarctica
Society Of Woman Geographers President 79 - 81
Department Of Defense Antarctic Medal
Ronne Ice Shelf Antarctica
Family Members
Advertisement
