Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, born Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes in Windsor, Berkshire, on March 7, 1944, inherited his baronetcy at birth after his father died in action during World War II. Following a childhood spent partly in South Africa, Fiennes returned to England for his education at Sandroyd School and Eton College. Despite initial difficulties gaining entry to Sandhurst, he earned a commission in the Royal Scots Greys and subsequently served with the Special Air Service, focusing on demolitions. A notable incident during his military career involved facing fines for a plot to disrupt the filming of ‘Doctor Dolittle’ by attempting to blow up a dam. Later, attached to the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces, Fiennes served extensively in the Dhofar War, where he commanded a reconnaissance platoon and was decorated for bravery, leading several raids into rebel-held territory. He completed eight years of military service before embarking on a career as an expedition leader.

Fiennes began his legendary career as an explorer in the 1960s, leading early expeditions up the White Nile on a hovercraft in 1969 and across Norway’s Jostedalsbreen Glacier in 1970. His most significant undertaking, the Transglobe Expedition, spanned from 1979 to 1982. This monumental journey saw him and his team become the first to circumnavigate the world on its polar axis solely by surface transport, a feat unrepeated since. As part of this expedition, Fiennes and Charles R. Burton achieved the first open boat transit of the Northwest Passage from west to east, covering approximately 3,000 miles. Further pushing the boundaries of exploration, in 1993, with Mike Stroud, Fiennes became the first to cross the Antarctic continent unsupported, a 93-day trek that set a distance record for unsupported polar expeditions. He also discovered an outpost of the lost city of Iram in Oman in 1992. His autobiography, “Living Dangerously,” published in 1987, chronicles many of these early adventures and offers insight into his formidable character.

Despite severe physical challenges, including frostbite that led to self-amputation of his fingertips in 2000 and a heart attack followed by double coronary artery bypass surgery in 2003, Fiennes continued his relentless pursuit of exploration. Just four months after his heart surgery, he completed the Land Rover 7x7x7 Challenge in 2003, running seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days for the British Heart Foundation. In 2009, at 65, he summited Mount Everest, becoming the oldest Briton to do so and the first person to have climbed Everest and crossed both polar ice-caps, a unique “three poles” achievement. Fiennes has authored 24 books across fiction and non-fiction, discussing his expeditions and other topics, and has raised over £16 million for various charities. His career is characterized by an unwavering commitment to pushing human endurance and a consistent record of pioneering achievements, making him a distinguished figure in the field of global exploration.