Baby Born in Antarctic, Named Antarktyk

On 6 January 1948, a baby was born aboard the Russian whaling factory ship Slava while it was crossing the Southern Ocean, heading toward the South Sandwich Islands. (The location was approximately 61°S 14°E.)

The baby’s mom, Aleksandra Akimovna Leonova, was a waitress on the ship, and his dad, seaman Yemelyan Sevastianovich Keshelav, was also on board.

The baby was named Antarktyk Yemelyanovich Keshelava* after the Antarctic region in which he was born.

*Or Keshelav? Both of my sources say the surname is Keshelava, but -a endings are feminine, and the baby was a boy, so they might be mistaken.

[Other Antarctic babies.]

Sources:

• “Baby Born in Antarctic.” New York Times 11 Jan. 1948.
• Headland, Robert Keith. A Chronology of Antarctic Exploration. London: Bernard Quaritch, 2009.