science · 13 November 1999 · 25 years ago
death
Died 13 Nov 1999 at age 91 (born 11 Feb 1908).
English geologist and explorer who initiated and led (with Sir Edmund Hillary) the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1957-58. In 1929 and 1930-31, Fuchs participated as a geologist on expeditions to East Greenland and the East African lakes. In 1958 Fuchs's 12-man party completed the first land journey across Antarctica in 99 days despite severe hardships, travelling 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometres) from the Filchner Ice Shelf to McMurdo Sound. Along the way a substantial scientific programme had been accomplished, including seismic soundings and a gravity traverse. The findings of the expedition confirmed earlier theories that a single continent exists beneath the Antarctic polar ice sheet.
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