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Barbara Hillary, a retired New York nurse who had survived cancer twice, skied the final stretch to the North Pole in 2007 at 75, and reached the South Pole in 2011 at 79, the first African-American woman on record to stand at both.

Barbara Hillary

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The story behind the card

Hillary spent 55 years as a nurse before turning to exploration. In her twenties she survived breast cancer, and around 1998 she was treated for lung cancer with surgery that left her breathing capacity reduced by about a quarter. She learned to cross-country ski specifically for the Arctic trip and raised more than $25,000 to fund it. After reaching both poles, she became a public speaker on climate change and ageing. She died in 2019, and in 2020 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Türkçe oku
New Yorklu emekli hemşire Barbara Hillary iki kez kanseri yenmişti. 2007'de, 75 yaşında Kuzey Kutbu'na giden son yolu kayakla geçti; 2011'de, 79 yaşında Güney Kutbu'na da ulaştı. Kayıtlara göre iki kutba da ayak basan ilk Afro-Amerikan kadın oldu.

Hillary kutup yolculuklarından önce 55 yıl hemşirelik yaptı. Yirmili yaşlarında meme kanserini atlattı; 1998 dolaylarında akciğer kanseri yüzünden ameliyat oldu ve nefes kapasitesinin dörtte birini kaybetti. Kuzey Kutbu yolculuğu için özel olarak kros kayağı öğrendi ve masrafları karşılamak için 25.000 dolardan fazla bağış topladı. İki kutba da ulaştıktan sonra iklim değişikliği ve yaşlanma üzerine konuşmalar yaptı. 2019'da öldü; bir yıl sonra ABD Ulusal Kadınlar Onur Listesi'ne (National Women's Hall of Fame) alındı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Barbara Hillary
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