Fuchs, << fyooks, >> Sir Vivian Ernest (1908-1999), was a British geologist and Antarctic expert. He headed the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1957 and 1958. Sir Edmund Hillary led the expedition’s New Zealand party. The expedition, the first known party to cross Antarctica, covered 2,158 miles (3,473 kilometers) in 99 days, and made geophysical observations. Fuchs was director of the British Antarctic Survey from 1958 to 1973. Fuchs was born on Feb. 11, 1908, on the Isle of Wight. He died on Nov. 11, 1999. See also Antarctica (The International Geophysical Year) .