Paul Allman Siple (December 18, 1908 – November 25, 1968) was an American

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

explorer and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

who took part in six Antarctic expeditions, including the two Byrd expeditions of 1928–1930 and 1933–1935, representing the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

as an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

. In addition to being an Eagle Scout, Siple was also a

Sea Scout Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...

. His first and third books covered these adventures. With

Charles F. Passel Charles Fay Passel (April 9, 1915 – December 27, 2002) was a polar scientist responsible along with Paul Siple for the development of the wind chill factor parameter. Biography Passel was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 9, 1915 and gr ...

he developed the

wind chill Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...

factor, and Siple coined the term.

Biography

Siple was born in

Montpelier, Ohio Montpelier is a village in Williams County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,072 at the 2010 census. History Montpelier was platted in 1845. The village was named after Montpelier, Vermont. A post office has been in operation at Montp ...

on December 18, 1908, to Clyde Lavonius Siple and Fannie Hope Allman. His family moved to

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, where he graduated from Central High School in 1926. He became an

in 1923 with 59 merit badges. After an extensive nationwide search in 1928, he was the first Eagle Scout selected for an Antarctic expedition, sailing with

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

on his ship the ''City of New York''. Siple appeared in the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

With Byrd at the South Pole ''With Byrd at the South Pole'' (1930) is a documentary film about Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd and his 1st quest to the South Pole beginning at the Little America-Exploration Base. The film's soundtrack consists mostly of music and sound effec ...

'' (1930). He became a brother of the

Alpha Chi Rho Alpha Chi Rho (), commonly known as Crows, Crow, or AXP, is a men's collegiate fraternity founded on June 4, 1895, at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, by the Reverend Paul Ziegler, his son Carl Ziegler, and Carl's friends William H. Rous ...

fraternity while attending

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He married Ruth Ida Johannesmeyer on December 19, 1936. He also attended

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, from which he received a Ph.D. in 1939. His dissertation was on "Adaptations of the Explorer to the Climate of Antarctic". He worked in the Army Scientific Office for most of his career. Siple was involved with the ''United States Antarctic Service Expedition of 1939–1941'', which would have been the third Byrd expedition. He served during Operation Highjump, (also known as the United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program 1946–1947), developed cold weather gear for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and Operation Deep Freeze I in 1955–1956. He was the inaugural scientific leader at the U.S.

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the southernmost point under the jurisdiction (not sovereignty) of the United States. The station is located on the ...

1956–1957, during the

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; french: Année géophysique internationale) was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific ...

. This activity is covered in his fourth book, ''90 Degrees South''. From 1963 to 1966 he served as the first U.S.

science attaché A science attaché (also known as a scientific attaché or a technical attaché) is a member of a diplomatic mission, usually an embassy. A science attaché traditionally had three primary functions: advise the ambassador on scientific and technic ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where he had a stroke in 1966 and returned to the United States. He died on November 25, 1968, at the Army Research Center in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

Legacy

Antarctic features

Siple Coast Siple Coast () is the middle portion of the relatively ill-defined coast along the east side of the Ross Ice Shelf, between the north end of Gould Coast () and the south end of Shirase Coast (). The area was originally called Kirton Coast, but wa ...

, Siple Island,

Mount Siple Mount Siple is a potentially active Antarctic shield volcano, rising to and dominating the northwest part of Siple Island, which is separated from the Bakutis Coast, Marie Byrd Land, by the Getz Ice Shelf. Its youthful appearance strongly sugg ...

, Siple Ridge and

Siple Station Siple Station was a research station in Antarctica (), established in 1973 by Stanford's STAR Lab, to perform experiments that actively probed the magnetosphere using very low frequency (VLF) waves. Its location was selected to be near the Earth' ...

were named in his honor. Siple is noteworthy because he is one of a very few individuals to participate in all five of the Antarctic expeditions conducted by

Honors

Siple received the

Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting pro ...

from the BSA in 1947 and the

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner G ...

National Distinguished Service Award in 1958. He received the

Hubbard Medal The Hubbard Medal is awarded by the National Geographic Society for distinction in exploration, discovery, and research. The medal is named for Gardiner Greene Hubbard Gardiner Greene Hubbard (August 25, 1822 – December 11, 1897) was an A ...

from the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

in 1958. In 1960 he was awarded the

Hans Egede Medal The Hans Egede medal is awarded by the Royal Danish Geographical Society for outstanding services to geography, "principally for geographical studies and research in the Polar lands." It was instituted in 1916 and named after Hans Egede, a Danish ...

by the

Royal Danish Geographical Society The Royal Danish Geographical Society (RDGS, da, Det Kongelige Danske Geografiske Selskab) is a scientific society aimed at furthering the knowledge of the Earth and its inhabitants and to disseminate interest in the science of geography. It was ...

.(in Danish)
/ref> He also received the

Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal The Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal is a Congressional medal established by an Act of Congress in 1930 to commemorate the Byrd Antarctic Expedition of 1928–1930. Presented in gold, silver and bronze, the medals were awarded to 81 individuals a ...

, the

Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal The Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal was established by Act of Congress in 1936 to commemorate the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition. Criteria Established by an act of congress on 2 June 1936, the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal was ...

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 ...

and the

Antarctica Service Medal The Antarctica Service Medal (ASM) was established by the United States Congress on July 7, 1960, under Public Law 600 of the 86th Congress. The medal was intended as a military award to replace several commemorative awards which had been issu ...

Works

* ''A Boy Scout With Byrd'' (1931) * ''Exploring at Home'' (1932) * ''Scout to Explorer: Back with Byrd in the Antarctic'' (1936) * ''90 Degrees South'' (1959)

References

External links

*
Paul Siple
on cover of

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...