Francis Michael Gambacorta (8 July 1913 - 1 December 2000) was a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Captain. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Class of 1935 and served onboard submarines in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, receiving the Silver Star award for actions in Japan in 1942. Later, Gambacorta served as captain of the USS Wyandot that transported the party which established

Ellsworth Station Ellsworth Scientific Station ( es, Estación Científica Ellsworth, or simply ''Estación Ellsworth'' or ''Base Ellsworth'') was a permanent, all year-round originally American, then Argentine Antarctic scientific research station named after Ame ...

, an Antarctic research station, at the outset of the International Geophysical Year. Unloading at the station site on the Filchner Ice Shelf began in January 1957. Gambacorta Peak, a mountain near the Station, was named for him by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN).

References

1913 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American naval officers People of Antarctica American explorers Mountains of Antarctica Recipients of the Silver Star United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II {{US-navy-bio-stub