November 15

Born in 1661, Graffenried came from a prominent family in Bern, Switzerland, with interests in colonial ventures. He organized and led an expedition of Swiss and Palatinate settlers to the Neuse River region in 1710. Despite challenges with local Indigenous groups and supply shortages, he established the town of New Bern. His published letters and travel journal provide a vivid account of early 18th-century colonial life. Returning to Europe in 1711, he continued to promote American colonization but faced personal and financial setbacks.

Born in 1868 in Iași, Romania, Emil Racoviță earned his doctorate in biological sciences at the Free University of Brussels. He joined the Belgica expedition to Antarctica from 1897 to 1899 as the ship’s naturalist. Racoviță was the first scientist to conduct scientific research on the Antarctic continent. He later became a professor at the University of Cluj and founded modern biospeleology, studying cave fauna across Europe. He authored numerous scientific papers and mentored future generations of biologists. He died in 1947, remembered for his groundbreaking work in zoology and exploration.