Survey, to plan research in the Antarctic and support research publication. After the trans-Antarctic expedition he become director of the Survey, a position he held until 1973. From 1982 through 1984, Fuchs was president of the Royal Geographical Society. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974. Family In 1933, he had married his cousin Joyce Connell, who had accompanied him on several expeditions. They had three children: Hilary (1936-2002) Rosalind (1938–1945), and Peter (born 1940). Joyce, Lady Fuchs, died on 27 April 1990 in Oxford, of a heart attack, aged 83. The next year, in 1991, he married Eleanor Honnywill, his former personal assistant at the British Antarctic Survey, in Kensington and Chelsea, London. Death Sir Vivian Fuchs died in Cambridge on 11 November 1999, aged 91. The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition Fuchs is best known as the leader of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica. Planning for the expedition began in 1953, and envisioned the use of Sno-Cat tractors to cross the continent in 100 days, starting at the Weddell Sea, ending at the Ross Sea, and crossing the South Pole. Fuchs and his party arrived in Antarctica in January 1957 after camp had been set up. The party departed from Shackleton Base on 24 November 1957. During the trek, a variety of scientific data were collected from seismic soundings and gravimetric readings. Scientists established the thickness of ice at the pole, and the existence of a land mass beneath the ice. On 2 March 1958, Fuchs and company completed the 100-day trip by reaching Scott Base, having travelled 2,158 miles. In 1958, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He co-wrote, with Sir Edmund Hillary, The Crossing of Antarctica. In 1959 he was awarded the Hans Egede Medal by the Royal Danish Geographical Society. Legacy The Fuchs Medal was created in 1973 for "outstanding devotion to the British Antarctic Survey's interests, beyond the call of normal duty, by men or women who are or were members of the Survey, or closely connected with its work." It is awarded to one or two people per year. Fuchs Dome in the Shackleton Range, Antarctica. Fuchs Ice Piedmont on Adelaide Island, Antarctica. References External links "Scott Base Turns Out To Greet Dr. Fuchs." The Times, 3 March 1958; pg. 9. Fuchs medal named in his honour Scott Polar Research Institute