George W. Gibbs Jr.

George W. Gibbs Jr.
Birth nameGeorge Washington Gibbs Jr.
Born(1916-11-07)7 November 1916
Jacksonville, Florida
Died7 November 2000(2000-11-07) (aged 84)
Rochester, Minnesota
Place of burial
Rochester, Minnesota
Allegiance United States
Service/branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1935-1959
RankChief Petty Officer
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsUnited States Antarctic Expedition Medal
Other workIBM personnel department
Employment agency owner
NAACP chapter president

George Washington Gibbs Jr. (November 7, 1916 – November 7, 2000), a sailor in the United States Navy, became the first African-American to set foot on the continent of Antarctica[1][2][3][4] on the Antarctic Peninsula. Gibbs served as a member of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's third Antarctic expedition, also known as the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–1941) on January 14, 1940. Gibbs served as a gunner in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After 24 years service in the U.S. Navy, Gibbs retired in 1959 as a chief petty officer. Gibbs then attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. Gibbs worked in the personnel department of IBM at Rochester, Minnesota 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 at Rochester and several service clubs. In 1966, Gibbs helped organize the Rochester Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was also a civic leader who was president of the Rochester Kiwanis 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.[1][2][5][6][7]

The Rochester, Minnesota school board named a new elementary school, dedicated on October 11, 2009, the George W. Gibbs Jr. Elementary School.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b c 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.
  2. ^ a b c Geens, Stefan. "Double Honors for African-American Antarctic Explorer George W. Gibbs Jr." International Polar Year, 2007-2008 web site Archived 2011-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Stein, Glenn. "School Named after Black American Antarctic Explorer George W. Gibbs Jr." International Polar Year, 2007-2008 web site Archived 2011-11-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Smith, Adam Christian. Black Past.org "Gibbs Jr., George W. (1916-2000)". Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  6. ^ Legacy.com obituary for George W. Gibbs Jr. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  7. ^ Woodford, Chris (2011). Arctic Tundra and Polar Deserts. Chicago: Heinemann-Raintree Books. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4329-4172-7. Retrieved 1 August 2012.