George Washington Gibbs Jr. (November 7, 1916 – November 7, 2000), a sailor in the

United States 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 ...

, became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to set foot on the

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Rejcek, Peter
Making history: Gibbs first person of African descent to set foot on Antarctic continent
In The Antarctic Sun. Posted October 1, 2010. United States Antarctic Program web site. Retrieved August 1, 2012.Geens, Stefan. "Double Honors for African-American Antarctic Explorer George W. Gibbs Jr.
International Polar Year, 2007-2008 web site
. Retrieved August 1, 2012.Stein, Glenn. "School Named after Black American Antarctic Explorer George W. Gibbs Jr.
International Polar Year, 2007-2008 web site
. Retrieved August 1, 2012.O'Connor, Colleen
Daughter of first black man in Antarctica writing book on his adventure
In ''The Denver Post'', February 6, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012. on the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

. Gibbs served as a member of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Richard E. Byrd's third Antarctic expedition, also known as the

United States Antarctic Service Expedition The United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–1941), often referred to as Byrd’s Third Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition jointly sponsored by the United States Navy, State Department, Department of the Interior and The Treasu ...

(1939–1941) on January 14, 1940. Gibbs served as a gunner in the U.S. Navy during

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 opposin ...

. After 24 years service in the U.S. Navy, Gibbs retired in 1959 as a

chief petty officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi� ...

. Gibbs then attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. Gibbs worked in the personnel department of IBM at

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

from 1963 to 1982. After retiring from IBM, Gibbs founded an employment agency, Technical Career Placement, Inc., which he continued to operate until 1999. George Gibbs was a civil rights leader who integrated the

Elks Club The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

at Rochester and several service clubs. In 1966, Gibbs helped organize the Rochester Chapter of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

(NAACP). He was also a civic leader who was president of the Rochester

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

and the Rochester chapter of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association and was involved in several charitable organizations. Gibbs Point on the Antarctic Peninsula was named for George W. Gibbs Jr. on September 2, 2009.Smith, Adam Christian
Black Past.org
"Gibbs Jr., George W. (1916-2000)". Retrieved August 1, 2012. The Rochester, Minnesota school board named a new elementary school, dedicated on October 11, 2009, the George W. Gibbs Jr. Elementary School.

Early life

George W. Gibbs Jr. was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

on November 7, 1916. He moved to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He attended Brooklyn Technical School. Gibbs later received his General Education Diploma (GED). After brief work in the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, Gibbs enlisted in the U.S. Navy from

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

in 1935. He re-enlisted when his four-year period of enlistment expired. During his time in the Navy, Gibbs married Joyce Powell on September 26, 1953, in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

. The Gibbs's had a daughter, Leilani R. (Gibbs) Henry and a son, E. Anthony "Tony."

U.S. Navy

Polar expedition

Gibbs was encouraged to apply for an assignment with the

United States Antarctic Service The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

. The

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

established the service to support Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's third polar expedition (1939–1941) intended "to consolidate previous American exploration and to examine more closely the land in the Pacific sector." Gibbs was among forty U.S. Navy men chosen from 2,000 Navy applicants for a job with the expedition.Smith, Jesse Carney
Black Firsts
Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press, 2003. . Retrieved August 1, 2012. p. 483. Gibbs served as a Mess Attendant 1st Class aboard the lead expedition ship, '' U.S.S. Bear'', but also worked as a cook and performed other tasks with the expedition. By the end of the expedition, Gibbs was an Officer's Cook 3rd Class. Despite the long work days, Gibbs kept a journal during the expedition.Dougherty, Mike
George Gibbs' daughter, Leilani Henry, passes along spirit of explorer
In The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN, April 19, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012. It had been misplaced behind a dresser and only was found by his wife soon after his death in 2000. Gibbs noted the unfriendly attitude of two of the officers on the ''U.S.S. Bear'' but praised the captain and the spirit of co-operation among most of the Navy and civilian members of the expedition. On January 14, 1940, the ''U.S.S. Bear'' anchored in the

Bay of Whales The Bay of Whales was a natural ice harbour, or iceport, indenting the front of the Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide. The Ross Sea ...

. Gibbs wrote in his journal:

I was the first man aboard the ship to set foot in Little America and help tie her lines deep into the snow. I met Admiral Byrd; he shook my hand and welcomed me to Little America and for being the first Negro to set foot in Little America.

Gibbs helped to establish West Base (Little America III), near the Bay of Whales, and East Base on

Stonington Island Stonington Island is a rocky island lying northeast of Neny Island in the eastern part of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It is long from north-west to south-east and wide, yielding an area of . It was formerly ...

Marguerite Bay Marguerite Bay or Margaret Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. The mainland coast on th ...

, Antarctic Peninsula. He twice made round trips between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Antarctica. During the expedition, Gibbs helped catch

Adelie penguin Adelie or Adélie may refer to: * Adélie Land, a claimed territory on the continent of Antarctica * Adelie Land meteorite, a meteorite discovered on December 5, 1912, in Antarctica by Francis Howard Bickerton * Adélie penguin, a species of pengui ...

s for the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. This was dangerous work because the men had to work from a rowboat in fog with a non-working radio. Only the sounding of the ship's horn gave the men bearings to find their way back to the ship. The captain of the ''Bear'',

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Richard H. Cruzen, commended Gibbs twice: first, "at meritorious mast for his zeal, initiative, and untiring industry, entailing much personal sacrifice," during the preparation period for the Antarctic duty and second, at the end of the expedition, "for his outstanding zeal and energy, and for the unusual spirit of loyalty and cooperation which he has invariably displayed under trying conditions encountered during the assignment of this vessel to duty with the U.S. Antarctic Service."

World War II

During World War II, Gibbs served in combat in the Pacific. He was a gunner on the '' U.S.S. Atlanta''. During the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

on November 13, 1942, the ''Atlanta'' was sunk by enemy fire from the Japanese battleship '' Hiei'' and a torpedo from the Japanese destroyer ''

Akatsuki may refer to: * Akatsuki (spacecraft), an uncrewed Venus orbiter * , any of three classes of destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy * , any of three destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy * ''Akatsuki'' (train), operated between Kyoto and Na ...

'', killing about a third of the 3,000 member crew. After a night in shark-infested waters, Gibbs and the other survivors were rescued.

Post-war

Gibbs remained in the U.S. Navy until 1959 when he retired as a chief petty officer. Among other awards, Gibbs received the

Navy Good Conduct Medal The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy's variant of the Good Conduct Medal was established in 1869, the Marine Corps version in 1896, the Coast Guard version in 1923, the Army ...

, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal,

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wor ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...

and the silver

United States Antarctic Expedition Medal The United States Antarctic Expedition Medal is a combined military-civilian award that was authorized by the United States Congress on September 24, 1945 under Public Law 185 of the 79th Congress (59 Stat. 536). The award recognizes members of the ...

Later career

After Gibbs retired from the Navy, he moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1963 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education. The Gibbs family then moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where Gibbs worked in the personnel department at IBM for 18 years. He also was housing administrator and international assignment representative for IBM. Gibbs then founded his own employment company, Technical Career Placement, Inc., which he operated until 1999.

Civil rights and civic leadership

Gibbs became a civil rights leader and helped organize the Rochester, Minnesota Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He worked for civil rights in Rochester and on a national basis. Later, the Rochester, Minnesota branch of the NAACP presented Gibbs with the George Gibbs Humanitarianism Award. Gibbs's daughter, who plans to publish a book about her father, has said that he was very persuasive, noting that only about 50 of the 350 members of the local NAACP chapter were black. Gibbs also worked with the Minnesota-North Dakota NAACP Conference. Gibbs was president of the Rochester Kiwanis and the Rochester chapter of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. Gibbs was a chairman of Boy Scout Troop 21 and the United Negro College Fund for southeast Minnesota. He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church. In 1974, Gibbs was denied membership in the Rochester Elks Club, which made headlines and eventually led to breaking the color barrier at that club, an accomplishment also made by Gibbs at service clubs in Rochester. George W. Gibbs Jr. died on his 84th birthday, November 7, 2000.

Memorials

Gibbs Point

Gibbs Point, a rock point on the Antarctic Peninsula, the most northern area of Antarctica, was named for African-American Antarctic explorer George W. Gibbs Jr. on September 2, 2009. On that date, the

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

(

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

) confirmed the place name in Antarctica for Gibbs as the first black explorer to set foot on the continent. Gibbs Point is a rock point forming the northwest entrance to

Gaul Cove Gaul Cove () is a cove indenting the northeast side of Horseshoe Island, off the coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for Kenneth M. Gaul, first leader of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Surve ...

, on the northeast of Horseshoe Island, Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula (67°48'22"S, 067°09'38"W).

Others

Rochester Minnesota's West Soldiers Field Drive was renamed in honor of Gibbs in 2002. On August 5, 2008, the Rochester, Minnesota school board named a new elementary school the George W. Gibbs Jr. Elementary School. The formal dedication was October 11, 2009. A scholarship also was named for Gibbs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, George W. Jr. 1916 births 2000 deaths Explorers of Antarctica United States and the Antarctic University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development alumni Military personnel from Jacksonville, Florida People from Rochester, Minnesota American polar explorers 20th-century explorers African-American businesspeople African-American United States Navy personnel Activists for African-American civil rights 20th-century American businesspeople African Americans in World War II