Norman Vaughan was a famous American explorer who was initially able to indulge in that because of his family’s wealth. In 1928, Vaughan dropped out of Harvard and joined Admiral Richard Byrd’s Antarctic expedition, serving with him from 1928-32. Byrd named a mountain in Antarctica, Mount Vaughan, in his honor. In 1994, Vaughan returned to Antarctica and climbed the 10,302 ft (3,150 m) mountain. In World War II, Vaughan served in the US Army Air Forces Search and Rescue driving dogsleds, and became a Colonel, engaging in several rescue missions in Greenland. He also served during the Korean Conflict. Vaughan moved to Alaska in 1974 and later competed in 13 Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Races. He crashed the 1977 Presidential Inauguration, showing off his dogs from Alaska, but was an invited guest at the 1981 and 1985 Inaugurations. In 1997 he organized the Norman Vaughan Serum Run to commemorate the 1925 Great Serum Run to Nome, which brought medicine to the town during a diphtheria epidemic.
United States