Rear Admiral Richard Byrd was an acclaimed Naval pilot and explorer who made the first flight over the North Pole in 1926 and the first flight over the South Pole in 1929. Although he achieved a successful trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, he was forced to ditch his plane in the sea on the French coast because of fog. Byrd continued to make contributions to Polar explorations until nearly the end of his life. In 1955-56, he returned for another Antarctic expedition. Bibliography: Burleigh, Robert. illustrated by Lyon, Walter. Black Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic. New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c1998. Rodgers, Eugene. Beyond The Barrier: The Story of Byrd's First Expedition to Antarctica. Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, c1990. Rose, Lisle Abbott. Photos. selected by Richard R. Conger. Assault on Eternity: Richard E. Byrd and the Exploration of Antarctica, 1946-47. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, c1980.