Louise Boyd - Biography

Biography

Born in San Rafael, California to John Franklin Boyd and Louise Cook Arner, owners and heirs to the Bodie Gold Bonanza of 1877, Louise grew up in Marin County and the hills of Oakland playing and competing with her two older brothers, Seth and John. The Boyds were leading citizens of the era and their children's early years, though privileged and relatively carefree, included a well-rounded education that was punctuated every summer by an extended stay on their ranch in the Oakland Hills. It was here where Louise and her brothers rode horses, explored Mount Diablo, fished, hunted, camped, and generally led a rugged and adventurous life. When Louise was a teenager, both of her brothers died from heart disease within a few months of each other. Her parents were devastated and began to lean heavily on Louise for care and comfort. It was at this time that the Boyds bequeathed to the City of San Rafael their former gatehouse and some of the family property as a memorial to their two sons. The Victorian-style building is now the home of the Marin History Museum. Upon her parents death in 1919 and 1920, Louise inherited the family fortune after caring for her parents in the last few years of their lives.

With her inheritance, Louise Boyd could control her own destiny and indulge her intrepid spirit developed during her active California childhood where she rode horses and competed and played with her two older brothers. She began to travel in the early 1920s, and on a trip to Norway in 1924 she cruised out to sea and saw the Polar Ice Pack for the first time. This experience proved instrumental in her life and she immediately began planning her own Arctic adventure. In 1925, she was presented to the King and Queen of England and soon after, in 1926, she chartered the supply ship "Hobby" which had been used by famous explorer Roald Amundsen, for a hunting and filming trip to the Arctic. She gained international notoriety for her exploits (and hunting of polar bears) and was dubbed by newspapers around the world, as the, “Arctic Diana” and “The Girl Who Tamed the Arctic”.

In 1928, Boyd was planning a second pleasure trip aboard the "Hobby" when it was learned that the famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had recently disappeared in his own attempt to find and rescue the Italian explorer Umberto Nobile. Louise offered her services and the ship to the Norwegian government to search for Amundsen, saying, “How could I go on a pleasure trip when those 22 lives were at stake?” Although she traveled about 10,000 miles (16,100 km) across the Arctic Ocean she found no trace of him. Nevertheless, the Norwegian government awarded her the Chevalier Cross of the Order of Saint Olav. "She was the first American woman to receive the order and the third woman in the world to be so honored." (1)

Boyd was probably best known for leading a series of scientific expeditions to the east and north-east coasts of Greenland in 1931, 1933, 1937 & 1938 (sponsored by the American Geographical Society). She described the 1933 expedition in her 1935 book The Fiord Region of East Greenland. An area near the De Geer Glacier was later named Louise Boyd Land.

In August 1934, after being elected as a delegate to the International Geographical Congress in Warsaw, Poland, Louise set out on a 3 month journey across the Polish countryside photographing and recording the customs, dress, economy and culture of the many ethnic Poles and Russians in the newly formed nation. The journey, by car, rail, boat and on foot took her first from Lviv to Kovel (these towns are in the Ukraine today), and then to Kobrin – Pinsk – Kletsk – Nesvizh – Slonim (these towns are in Belarus today). She finished the journey in Vilno. Her travel narrative was supplemented with over 500 photographs and published by the American Geographical Society in 1937.

The knowledge she had gained on her numerous expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic became very valuable after World War II broke out. The United States government requested that she not publish a book she was writing based on her 1937 & 1938 expeditions. Instead she was sent at the head of an expedition to investigate magnetic and radio phenomena in the Arctic and in 1941 she organized an expedition for the National Bureau of Standards) chartering the Effie M. Morrissey and paying for the ship and crew herself as well as for the food and supplies. The expedition and its findings were helpful in the war effort and she received an official commendation from the National Bureau of Standards for her work. During the remainder of the war Boyd worked on secret assignments for the U.S. Department of the Army." (2) Her earlier book that had been held from publication, The Coast of Northeast Greenland, was published in 1948, after the war had ended.

In 1949 received the Department of Army Certificate of Appreciation.

Later in life Louise Boyd was an active and well-known Marin figure and hostess while serving as a member of the Executive Committee of the San Francisco Symphony. She also accumulated many academic honors receiving an honorary law degree from the University of California, Berkeley and from Mills College. She was also the second woman ever to receive the Cullum Medal of the American Geographical Society and in 1960 was the first woman to be elected to their board. She was also made an honorary member of the California Academy of Science. Near the end of her life, Louise made some bad investments and had already spent much of her fortune outfitting and chartering her many explorations. Eventually she had to sell the family home in San Rafael and all her furniture. She died in San Francisco on September 14, 1972.

The present day Marin History Museum is located in the old Boyd Estate Gatehouse in San Rafael, California and features a permanent exhibition of Louise Boyd photographs, memorabilia and information.