December 18

Born in 1505 into a noble Franconian family. Philipp von Hutten joined the Welser-sponsored expedition to Venezuela searching for El Dorado. He succeeded Georg von Speyer as governor of the colonial territory. His expeditions mapped parts of the Orinoco River basin and encountered indigenous cultures. Captured on his return voyage, he died in 1546, symbolizing early German overseas ventures.

Born in Montpelier, Vermont, Paul Siple joined Admiral Richard E. Byrd's Antarctic expedition as a Boy Scout.\nHe emerged as a prominent explorer, taking part in multiple Antarctic journeys over three decades.\nSiple's research focused on human physiological responses to extreme cold.\nIn 1945, he co-developed the wind chill factor, now a standard measure in meteorology.\nHe later served as a geography professor at Clark University.\nSiple published several accounts of polar exploration and influenced cold-weather research.\nHis work bridged field exploration and academic study, leaving a lasting impact on geography and climatology.

Born in 1934, Boris Volynov graduated as an engineer before joining the Soviet cosmonaut corps in 1963. He served as flight engineer on Soyuz 5 in 1969, participating in the first manual docking of two crewed spacecraft. In 1976, he commanded Soyuz 21, spending weeks aboard the Salyut 5 space station on a long-duration mission. Volynov’s work advanced docking procedures and life support systems crucial for orbital stations. After retiring from active flight, he mentored the next generation of cosmonauts and preserved Soviet space heritage. He remains one of the pioneers of human space exploration.