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WKU Geography Professor June 9, 2004 The AGS Fliers' and Explorers' globe is sponsored by Delta Airlines and Marsh and McClellan and bears the signatures of more than 75 of the world's most famous explorers, including Neil Armstrong, Edmund Hillary, Charles A. Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. The American Geographical Society acquired its Fliers' & Explorers' Globe in 1929 as a gift from AGS President John H. Finley. In his position as Editor-in-Chief of the New York Times, Finley invited early heroes of exploration and aviation to draw their routes and sign their names on his 18-inch globe. The Society has continued the custom and, in so doing, has created a remarkable and unique symbol of humanity's unquenchable drive to explore the universe. Signers of the Fliers' & Explorers' Globe over the years are men and women who have explored certain places on earth for the first time in recorded history, reached new extremes of height or depth, pioneered new means of travel, or set aviation records. Their accomplishments have been made at great personal physical risk. New and previous signers honored at the Atlanta ceremony were: Bryan Allen, who, in 1979, became the first person to fly a human-powered aircraft, the Gossamer Albatross, 22 miles across the English Channel; Dr. Sylvia Earle, who walked unassisted on the sea floor at a record depth of 1,250 feet below the surface in 1979; Edith Ronne and Jennie Darlington, who, in 1947, became the first women to winter-over in Antarctica; Neil Armstrong, who as a member of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 became the first person to set foot on the moon's surface; Keith Greenaway, who, in 1946, navigated the first U.S. military flight over the North Pole; and George Lowe, who,in 1953, was a member of the British Everest Expedition, the first team to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. According to Dr. Keeling, "serving on the Board of the American Geographical Society, the oldest professional geography organization in North America, not only brings recognition to Western Kentucky University but helps to highlight the critical role that geography plays in our understanding of the world around us." Dr. Keeling has served on the Board since 2000, is currently the webmaster of the Society (www.amergeog.org), and has lectured on Society expeditions since 1995, visiting such fascinating locales as the Falkland Islands, Senegal, Patagonia, Hungary, and the Cape Verde Islands. For more information, contact Dr. David Keeling at (270) 745-4555. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
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