Roy Fitzsimmons was an American Polar Explorer and Geophysicist. Born LeRoy Fitzsimmons, he was the youngest child of John and Alice Brown Fitzsimmons and was one of 10 children.

Roy graduated from Seton Hall College

Seton Hall University

Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...

 in 1937 with a Physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 degree. He was trained in Magnetometry by the Carnegie Institution. He served as Geophysicist and Magnetologist on the MacGregor Arctic Expedition

MacGregor Arctic Expedition

The MacGregor Arctic Expedition was a privately funded expedition which set out to reoccupy Fort Conger, Ellesmere Island, Canada, a site within flying distance of the North Pole...

 July 1, 1937 through October 4, 1938. He was a member of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition

United States Antarctic Service Expedition

The United States Antarctic Service Expedition , 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 Treasury...

 (Byrd

Richard Evelyn Byrd

Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...

's third expedition) 1939 through 1941 where he worked at West Base on magnetometry, aurora

Aurora (astronomy)

An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...

 studies and seismology

Seismology

Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic,...

 in the Rockefeller Mountains where a peak bears his name.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Roy was a Captain in the United States Army Air Force. He was killed on May 5, 1945 while returning from active duty in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. He is buried in Newark NJ. His survivors included six nieces and nephews.

Sources

• Inglis, Robert: "A Scout Goes North", 1938
• MacGregor, Clifford J.: "Monthly Weather Review", October 1939
• Vogel, Hal: "Ice Cap News", Nov–Dec 1977
• Vogel, Hal: "They Brought Their Own Storms", 1977
• Inglis, Robert: "Rutgers University Oral History Archives" October 27, 1998
• Stonehouse, 'Bernard: "The Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans", 2002

External links

• MacGregor Arctic Expedition; Monthly Weather Review
• Rutgers University Oral History Archive
• Oral History, Robert Inglis
• Roster of World War II Dead – Ancestry.com