1988 25c Antarctic Explorers: Richard E. Byrd
# 2388 - 1988 25c Antarctic Explorers: Richard E. Byrd
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U.S. #2388
1988 25¢ Richard E. Byrd
Antarctic Explorers
- From a block honoring four explorers of the South Pole
- Pictures Byrd and a plane
- Stamp issue coincided with Richard Byrd’s 100th birthday and 100th anniversary of the National Geographic Society
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Antarctic Explorers
Value: 25¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue: September 14, 1988
First Day City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 40,535,625
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 50 in sheets of 200
Perforations: 11
Why the stamp was issued: The 1988 Antarctic Explorers block was issued as a companion to the 1986 Arctic Explorers (US #2220-23). The block was issued one month prior to Admiral Richard Byrd's 100th birthday.
About the stamp design: Artist Dennis Lyall, who designed the Arctic Explorers block, also designed this block in a similar style. Each stamp has a head-and-shoulders portrait with an illustration and map of the discovery route. The stamps in the block were arranged in chronological order with the earliest explorer in the top left and the most recent explorer in the bottom right.
The portrait of Richard E. Byrd was created based on several photographs by Seymore Stone and someone only credited as Woolf provided by the National Portrait Gallery. The plane pictured on his stamp was taken from a National Geographic Society photo.
First Day City: The First Day ceremony for the Antarctic Explorers block was held at the Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium of the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC. In addition to celebrating the issue of the stamps, the ceremony also celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Geographic Society.
Unusual fact about this stamp: Errors of the Antarctic Explorers block have been found imperforate and missing the black ink.
History the stamp represents: Richard Evelyn Byrd was born on October 25, 1888, in Winchester, Virginia. Byrd was descended from one of the first families of Virginia – among his ancestors were John Rolfe and Pocahontas. Byrd attended the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia before enrolling in the US Naval Academy.
After graduating in 1912, Byrd was assigned to the USS Wyoming and later the USS Dolphin. Aboard this ship, he met the assistant secretary of the Navy at the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and participated in the US intervention in Veracruz, Mexico. After suffering a foot injury, Byrd medically retired from the Navy and then joined the Rhode Island Naval Militia. He also recognized the expanding future of aviation and earned his pilot wings in 1917.
During World War I, Byrd worked in the Office of Naval Operations and trained pilots. He also commanded naval air forces in Nova Scotia. After the war, Byrd created the flight path for the Navy’s 1919 transatlantic crossing. Then in 1925, he commanded the aviation unit of an arctic expedition, which inspired him to launch an expedition of his own.
In May 1926, Byrd and Floyd Bennett reported that they made the first recorded flight over the North Pole. Byrd returned home a national hero, was promoted to the rank of commander and received the Medal of Honor. There was later some controversy over whether they actually did fly over the North Pole, but Byrd used the fame from this trip to plan a flight over the South Pole.
Two years later, Byrd launched that expedition on November 28, 1929, and made the first flight to the South Pole and back. He was promoted to rear admiral for this achievement, making him the youngest admiral in the US Navy at age 41.
Byrd returned to the Antarctic in 1934 for a solo mission. He spent five months alone in a meteorological station, where he suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from an ill-ventilated stove. He was later rescued and recounted the tale in his autobiography Alone. The US Post Office issued #733 to commemorate this expedition, though the stamp wasn’t distributed for public sale. Rather, it was issued for use on letters mailed through the Little America Post Office, established at the base camp of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition in the territory of the South Pole.
Byrd launched a third Antarctic expedition in 1939, but was called back to the US for active duty. During World War II, he served as an advisor and also led surveys and other missions in the Pacific in search of airfields. After the war, Byrd took part in two more Antarctic expeditions. He died in Boston on March 11, 1957.
U.S. #2388
1988 25¢ Richard E. Byrd
Antarctic Explorers
- From a block honoring four explorers of the South Pole
- Pictures Byrd and a plane
- Stamp issue coincided with Richard Byrd’s 100th birthday and 100th anniversary of the National Geographic Society
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Antarctic Explorers
Value: 25¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue: September 14, 1988
First Day City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 40,535,625
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 50 in sheets of 200
Perforations: 11
Why the stamp was issued: The 1988 Antarctic Explorers block was issued as a companion to the 1986 Arctic Explorers (US #2220-23). The block was issued one month prior to Admiral Richard Byrd's 100th birthday.
About the stamp design: Artist Dennis Lyall, who designed the Arctic Explorers block, also designed this block in a similar style. Each stamp has a head-and-shoulders portrait with an illustration and map of the discovery route. The stamps in the block were arranged in chronological order with the earliest explorer in the top left and the most recent explorer in the bottom right.
The portrait of Richard E. Byrd was created based on several photographs by Seymore Stone and someone only credited as Woolf provided by the National Portrait Gallery. The plane pictured on his stamp was taken from a National Geographic Society photo.
First Day City: The First Day ceremony for the Antarctic Explorers block was held at the Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium of the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC. In addition to celebrating the issue of the stamps, the ceremony also celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Geographic Society.
Unusual fact about this stamp: Errors of the Antarctic Explorers block have been found imperforate and missing the black ink.
History the stamp represents: Richard Evelyn Byrd was born on October 25, 1888, in Winchester, Virginia. Byrd was descended from one of the first families of Virginia – among his ancestors were John Rolfe and Pocahontas. Byrd attended the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia before enrolling in the US Naval Academy.
After graduating in 1912, Byrd was assigned to the USS Wyoming and later the USS Dolphin. Aboard this ship, he met the assistant secretary of the Navy at the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and participated in the US intervention in Veracruz, Mexico. After suffering a foot injury, Byrd medically retired from the Navy and then joined the Rhode Island Naval Militia. He also recognized the expanding future of aviation and earned his pilot wings in 1917.
During World War I, Byrd worked in the Office of Naval Operations and trained pilots. He also commanded naval air forces in Nova Scotia. After the war, Byrd created the flight path for the Navy’s 1919 transatlantic crossing. Then in 1925, he commanded the aviation unit of an arctic expedition, which inspired him to launch an expedition of his own.
In May 1926, Byrd and Floyd Bennett reported that they made the first recorded flight over the North Pole. Byrd returned home a national hero, was promoted to the rank of commander and received the Medal of Honor. There was later some controversy over whether they actually did fly over the North Pole, but Byrd used the fame from this trip to plan a flight over the South Pole.
Two years later, Byrd launched that expedition on November 28, 1929, and made the first flight to the South Pole and back. He was promoted to rear admiral for this achievement, making him the youngest admiral in the US Navy at age 41.
Byrd returned to the Antarctic in 1934 for a solo mission. He spent five months alone in a meteorological station, where he suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from an ill-ventilated stove. He was later rescued and recounted the tale in his autobiography Alone. The US Post Office issued #733 to commemorate this expedition, though the stamp wasn’t distributed for public sale. Rather, it was issued for use on letters mailed through the Little America Post Office, established at the base camp of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition in the territory of the South Pole.
Byrd launched a third Antarctic expedition in 1939, but was called back to the US for active duty. During World War II, he served as an advisor and also led surveys and other missions in the Pacific in search of airfields. After the war, Byrd took part in two more Antarctic expeditions. He died in Boston on March 11, 1957.