Louise Arner Boyd (1887 – 1972) was an American explorer, who explored the Arctic and Greenland.
The passion for travel
Daughter of Louise Cook Arner and John Franklin Boyd, Louise was born on September 16, 1887 in San Rafael, California. Her parents were influential citizens, and Louise and her two older brothers enjoyed a good education and regular stays at their ranch in the hills of Oakland, where they rode horses, hiked, fished, hunted, and camped. While Louise was a teenager, her two brothers died suddenly of heart disease.
Louise and her parents travel a lot, especially in Europe. The young woman also made many trips to the United States alone, which she kept track of in the newspapers. When her parents died in 1919 and 1920, she inherited the family fortune, which ensured her future and her independence. She began to travel again and, in 1924, during a cruise in Norway, she saw the ice floe for the first time. This trip was a revelation for her, and she immediately set about planning her own Arctic expedition.
The girl who tamed the Arctic
In 1926, Louise Boyd chartered the boat Hobby for an Arctic expedition to film the region and hunt. She gains, with this trip, an immediate fame and popularity. In 1928, she planned a second expedition but, learning that the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was missing, she offered her boat and her services to go in search of him. Despite the 16,000 kilometers she travels in the Arctic, she cannot find his trace; but the Norwegian government named her a Knight of the Order of St. Olaf anyway.
During the 1930s, Louise led numerous scientific expeditions around Greenland and in northern Europe. All the information she collects during her expeditions proves invaluable during the Second World War and she works secretly with the American army. At the end of the war, she published a book about her many travels.
In 1955, Louise was the first woman to fly over the North Pole. In the rest of her life, she accumulated academic awards and honors, notably becoming an honorary member of the California Academy of Sciences.
Louise Boyd died on September 14, 1972 in San Diego.