Bernt Balchen Papers

A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by William Parham
Revised and expanded by Michael Spangler

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2008

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2006

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms009032

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Organizations

Subjects

Locations

Related Names

Occupations

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Transfers:

Other Repositories:

Copyright Status:

Access and Restrictions:

Preferred Citation:

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Organization of the Papers

Description of Series

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The papers of Bernt Balchen, aviator, explorer, and air force officer, were given to the Library of Congress by Audrey S. Balchen in several installments between 1979 and 1996. Irene Laune gave additional items in 1987. Further additions were given in 1998 by Bess Balchen Urbahn and Ben Kocivar.

The papers of Bernt Balchen were processed in 1980. The collection was reprocessed in 1996 incorporating additional material received from 1987 to 1996. Material given in 1998 was processed and added to the collection in 2000. The finding aid was revised in 2008.

Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions in the Library. Sound recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. Most photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the Bernt Balchen Papers.

A microfilm edition of the scrapbooks in this collection is available at the National Archives and Records Administration (Record Group 401), Washington, D.C. Other Balchen papers are also located at the National Archives and Records Administration, and at the Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama.

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Bernt Balchen is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions. In addition, many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Bernt Balchen Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Bernt Balchen (1899-1973) span the years 1917-1998, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1928-1980. The collection is composed chiefly of Balchen's diaries and logbooks, research papers of his wife, Audrey S. Balchen, and a group of scrapbooks. The collection is arranged in the following series: Notebooks, Research File, Scrapbooks, Addition, and Oversize.

Most significant in the Notebooks series are Balchen's diaries and logbooks. The diaries date from the 1930s and 1940s and include entries pertaining to Balchen's association with Lincoln Ellsworth's Antarctic expedition, his work with the Norwegian Airlines, and the construction of an air base on Greenland during World War II. Many entries are in Norwegian. Prominent among the logbooks is Balchen's log of 1926 for the trimotor Fokker Josephine Ford. Balchen later cited this record of the performance of the plane to dispute Richard Evelyn Byrd's claim to have flown the same plane over the North Pole. The Notebooks series also includes autobiographical notes and writings pertaining to his activities in support of the Norwegian underground resistance during World War II.

The Research File contains papers generated by Audrey S. Balchen primarily after the death of her husband. It documents her administration of Balchen's papers and her research regarding his career. The file includes photocopies of many of her husband's papers with original items scattered throughout the file. Files relating to Richard Evelyn Byrd's North Pole expedition in 1926 contain correspondence with Byrd and Balchen's notes regarding the expedition and their later relationship. Other material related to the North Pole expedition is found in files pertaining to Richard Montague and to Balchen's autobiography, Come North with Me, which includes a photocopy of an early unpublished version of his memoirs. Another important file, the military file, contains photocopies of correspondence concerning his military career.

Oversize scrapbooks documenting the full extent of Balchen's professional life include newspaper clippings, printed matter, telegrams, copies of correspondence, and memorabilia.

The Addition contains a typescript of corrections and addenda for the biographical sketch "Bernt Balchen: An Outline of His Life," filed in the Research File. A transcript of an interview with Balchen conducted in 1972 by Ben Kocivar is accompanied by newspaper clippings, biographical material, photographs, and printed matter collected by Kocivar as background information for the interview.

Organization of the Papers

The collection is arranged in five series:

• Notebooks, 1917-1970
• Research File, 1926-1996
• Scrapbooks, circa 1920-1975
• Addition, 1931-1998
• Oversize, circa 1920-1975

Description of Series

Container List