Carl Ben Eielson

Carl Ben Eielson

Carl Benjamin Eielson (1897 - 1929) was an aviator, bush pilot and explorer. He was born in Hatton, North Dakota to Norwegian immigrants.

His interest in aviation went back to his childhood. Following America’s entry into World War I, Eielson found his chance to become an aviator. Eielson learned to fly in the U.S. Army Air Service in 1917. In January 1918 he enlisted in the newly-formed aviation section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. World War I ended while Eielson was in flight training. This ended America’s immediate need for pilots and Eielson, not willing to give up flying, together with friends organised the Hatton Aero Club starting with barnstorming.

In 1921, he enrolled at Georgetown Law School (now Georgetown University) in Washington, D.C. Working part time as a police officer at the Capitol, he met Alaska's representative to the Congress, Daniel Sutherland, who persuaded Ben to go to Alaska to teach secondary school.

Also that year, he flew the first air mail in Alaska from Fairbanks to McGrath in 4 hours, a distance dog sleds took 20 days to cover. He also flew the first air mail from Atlanta to Jacksonville, Florida in 1926.

He is perhaps best known for flying the first airplane across the Arctic Ocean, with Australian explorer Hubert Wilkins in April 1928. The flight, from Point Barrow to Spitsbergen, covered 3540 km (2,200 miles) and took 20 hours. The main purpose of the flight was to establish whether or not any Island (Graham Land) did exist between Alaska and the North Pole. In the Antarctic summer of 1928 - 1929, Eielson and Wilkins were the first people to make air explorations of the Antarctic, charting several islands which were previously unknown.

After his return from the Arctic flight, Eielson was asked to establish Alaskan Airways, a subsidiary of The Aviation Corporation of America. Eielson died alongside his mechanic Earl Borland in an air crash on November 9, 1929 in Siberia while attempting to rescue 15 passengers of the "Nanuk", a cargo vessel trapped in the ice at North Cape (shown as Mys Schmidt on today's maps).

Eielson Air Force Base and the Liberty ship SS "Carl B. Eielson" are named in his honour, as is the new visitor center at Denali National Park and Preserve. A peak in the Endicott Mountains in Alaska is also named in his honour. Carl Ben Eielson is a recipient of the state of North Dakota's Roughrider Award. In 1929 he was awarded the Harmon Trophy. In 1985 he was enshrined in National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. An elementary school in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is named after him, as well as the Junior/Senior High on Eielson AFB and a middle school in Fargo, North Dakota.

References

*Dorothy G. Page, "Polar Pilot: The Carl Ben Eielson Story". Vero Media, Moorhead, Minnesota. 1992. ISBN 0-8134-2936-6
*Erling Rolfsrud, "Brother to the Eagle", Alexandria, Minnesota 1952

ee also

*1925 serum run to Nome

External links

* [http://nationalaviation.blade6.donet.com/components/content_manager_v02/ view_nahf/htdocs/menu_ps.asp?NodeID=1005983888&group_ID=1134656385&Parent_ID=-1 Eielson information at National Aviation Hall of Fame website]
* [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/ north_pole/EX19G7.htm Flight path Alaska-Spitsbergen]
* [http://eielson.org Hatton Eielson Museum]
* [http://www.nps.gov/dena/parknews/eielson-visitor-center.htm Eielson Visitor Center, Denali National Park and Preserve]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Carl Ben Eielson — Sa tombe à Hatton dans le Dakota du Nord …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Eielson Air Force Base — Part of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Located near: Fairbanks, Alaska …   Wikipedia

  • Eielson — may refer to: *Carl Benjamin Eielson (1897 1929), American aviator *Jorge Eduardo Eielson (1924 2006), Peruvian poet *Various facilities named for Carl Benjamin Eielson: **Eielson Air Force Base, located near Fairbanks, Alaska **Ben Eielson… …   Wikipedia

  • Eielson Air Force Base — Eielson AFB en 1999 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Olaf Swenson — 1915 or earlier Olaf Swenson ( December 16, 1883–August 23, 1938) was a Seattle based fur trader and adventurer active in Siberia and Alaska in the first third of the 20th century. His career intersected with activities of notable explorers of… …   Wikipedia

  • University of North Dakota — Motto Lux et Lex (Latin) Motto in English Light and Law Established 1883 …   Wikipedia

  • Université du Dakota du Nord — University of North Dakota Devise Lux et Lex (Latin) Informations Fondation 1883 Type Publique, Space grant Dotation $94.0 million[1 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Эйльсен, Карл Бен — Карл Бен Эйльсен Carl Eielson Карл Бен Эйльсон ( …   Википедия

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Traill County, North Dakota — Location of Traill County in North Dakota This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Traill County, North Dakota. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of… …   Wikipedia

  • 58th Strategic Weather Squadron — The next SAC unit to use Eielson as a permanent base. was the 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arriving on 5 March 1949. The 308th flew WB 29 Superfortresses. The unit was… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”