History

The history of the BSA Antarctic Scientific Program is as varied and almost as far-reaching as Antarctic exploration itself. One of the earliest explorers, Ernest Shackleton, is said to have brought a Scout with him to the Antarctic on one of his expeditions. The first official Boy Scout in Antarctica was Paul Siple in 1928. Siple was a member of Adm. Richard Byrd's first expedition to the Antarctic, in which Byrd became the first man to fly over the South Pole. Siple went on to have a successful career as an Antarctic explorer, joining all five of Byrd's expeditions and leading the first science team to winter over at the South Pole.

There have been 11 Antarctic Scouts:

• Paul Siple (1928)
• Richard Chappel (1957)
• Mark Leinmiller (1978)
• Doug Barnhart (1984)
• Louis Sugarman (1986)
• Robert Scot Duncan (1989)
• Toby Everett (1992)
• Kass Kastning (1995)
• Ben Hasse (1998)
• Tim Brox (2001)
• Brad Range (2003)

Last Updated: January 12, 2004