Harold June Harold June Harold Irving June (1895–1962) was a machinist, an aviator, a test pilot, and an explorer in Antarctica. He is best known for his 1928–1930 service in the first Antarctic expedition of Admiral Richard E. Byrd. Sitting in the co-pilot's seat with supplemental radio duties, he flew with Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, and photographer Ashley McKinley over the South Pole on November 29, 1929. Born in Stamford, Connecticut on February 12, 1895, he studied in the one-room schools of the day. Leaving Stamford High School after one year, he apprenticed in a machine shop in 1908. After working as
Byrd Cloth Byrd Cloth Byrd Cloth is a type of fabric similar to Grenfell Cloth which was designed in the 1934 by Harris Thurston and heavily promoted by Antarctic explorer Richard Byrd. The material was considered windproof yet the weave allowed some air to penetrate and therefore allowed sweat to evaporate from the body rather than freeze against the skin. It was meant to replace the fur-lined parkas which had traditionally been used for cold-weather exploration, and was discovered to also be ideal for World War II army uniforms because it absorbed less sweat, repelled mosquito bites, and was much lighter weight