United States – George Washington Gibbs Jr., First Black Person To Reach South Pole

George Washington Gibbs Jr. was born on 7 November 1916 in Jacksonville, Florida. His family moved to New York City, where he attended Brooklyn Technical School and later earned his GED before joining the Navy.

Gibbs became the first Black person to reach the South Pole as part of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–1941), also known as Byrd’s Third Antarctic Expedition. Gibbs was one of just forty people chosen to accompany Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd in this history-making expedition aboard the USS Bear.

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