Finn Ronne was born in Horten, Norway, on 20th December, 1899. He studied at the Horten Technical College before emigrating to the United States.

After working for the Westinghouse Electric Company, Ronne joined the United States Navy and was a member of the Antarctic Expedition led by Richard Byrd in 1933-35 and 1939-40.

Ronne led an expedition to the South Pole in 1947-48. On his return he was able to announce that his research showed that Antarctica was a single continent and not two islands. Finn Ronne died oat Bethesda, Maryland, on 12th January, 1980.