Louise Boyd on expedition to Greenland

One would have to search far and wide to find a more interesting, courageous and paradoxical woman than Louise Arner Boyd. Born into a rich and privileged Marin County family, she grew up a tomboy chasing after her two older brothers and riding horses in the rustic paradise of the San Francisco Bay area. She was presented to the King and Queen of England at the Court of St. James in 1925 and within a few years had paid for and led numerous scientific expeditions to Greenland and Franz Josef Land, becoming the first woman to set foot on those islands. On her expeditions Louise photographed and documented many of Greenland’s numerous glaciers, fjords, mountains and ice floes, the bulk of which provided her with the material she would need to write her most well known book, The Fjord Region of East Greenland. She was honored for her work by the American Geographical Society by having an area of De Geer Glacier named after her…Louise Boyd Land. She secretly worked for the United States government during World War II sending her unpublished book on Greenland to the State Department and outfitting and leading an arctic expedition for the National Bureau of Standards. Her experience and expertise provided valuable information, maps, charts and photographs that were essential to improving and maintaining radio transmissions between allied pilots and submarines. Later in life although Louise settled down to volunteering in her community and playing hostess to the upper echelons of Marin and San Francisco society, she embarked on a record-setting flight over the North Pole at the age of 67, becoming the first woman to accomplish that feat.

Louise was born in San Rafael to John Franklin Boyd and Louise Cook Arner, owners and heirs to the Bodie Gold Mine Bonanza of 1877. Louise developed a strong self-confidence and intrepid curiosity as a young girl and after the tragic deaths of her two brothers in 1901-02 of heart disease she became sole heir to her family’s fortune. Her fortune, coupled with her desire for adventure and the emerging equality for women gave Louise the freedom of which most women of her day could only dream. After her parents’ death in 1919 and 1920, Louise began to pursue her interests unfettered from the restrictions and expectations that most families (and society) placed on young women of that era.

Louise A. Boyd in the gown she wore when presented to the King & Queen of England, 1925

Louise Boyd & crew members on the Effie M. Morrissey October 29, 1941

During the 1920’s and 1930’s Louise led 5 expeditions to the arctic areas surrounding Greenland; photographing, collecting and writing about the natural history, landscape and people of that rarely seen environment. She traveled to rural Poland, photographing and writing about the customs, agriculture and society. She wrote and published three books detailing her travels and discoveries, and provided invaluable expertise and assistance to the United States war effort during WW II. Although her fortune was gone by the end of her life, Louise Boyd has left a legacy of courage, inspiration and scientific discovery nearly unrivaled by any woman of the 20th century! To find out more go to The Call of the Arctic: Travels of Louise Boyd.

This page was authored by Scott Fletcher, a volunteer for the Marin History Museum.