Black, Richard Blackburn, 1902-1992

Naval officer, explorer.

Richard Blackburn Black was born on August 10, 1902 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1926. In 1933, he was accepted to join Rear Admiral Richard Byrd's second Antarctic Expedition. He spent 1933 to 1935 in Antarctica. He went back to Antarctica with Byrd again in 1939, as a member of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition. Black served as leader of the East Base, on the coast of the Palmer Peninsula. In August 1941, Black was called to active duty in the United States Navy. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. He served in various capacities in the Pacific Theater of the war, before being discharged on May 20, 1946. He was awarded both the Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation for his service in World War II. Following the war, Black was employed by the U.S. government, helping to reconstruct the Micronesian Islands. In 1950, he was hired as prime contact between Johns Hopkins University and U.S. Army. His task was to study the establishment and maintenance of advance bases. As part of his duties, he was sent to Korea as part of the U.S. 8th Army, the main ground combat force of the United Nations. Upon his return from the Korean War, Black took a position with the Office of Naval Research in February 1953. In 1955, he again returned to the Antarctic with Admiral Byrd, as part of Operation Deep Freeze. Upon the death of Byrd in 1957, Black became the Officer-in-Charge of United States Antarctic Programs. Black was honored by UND in 1958, when he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree. He also received the Alumni Association's highest honor, the Sioux Award, in 1984. Richard Blackburn Black died on August 11, 1992, at the Fernwood Nursing Home in Bethesda, Maryland.