Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Bt OBE
Sir Ranulph Fiennes Bt OBE
	Fiennes in 2014
Born	Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes; 7 March 1944; Windsor, Berkshire, England
Alma mater	Mons Officer Cadet School
Occupations	British Army Officer; explorer and travel writer
Spouses	; Ginny Pepper (m. 1970; died 2004) ; Louise Millington (m. 2005)
Children	1
Awards	Order of the British Empire; Polar Medal (with double clasp);
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Service years	1963–1983
Rank	Lieutenant
Service number	474357
Unit	Royal Scots Greys; (1963–1966, 1966–1968); 22 SAS (1966); Royal Army of Oman (1967–1970); 22 SAS (R Sqn) (1970–1971); 21 SAS (Reserve) (1971–1983);

Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet OBE (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes (/ˈrænʌlf ˈfaɪnz/) and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is an English explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records.

Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years, including a period on counter-insurgency service while attached to the Army of the Sultanate of Oman. He later undertook numerous expeditions and was the first person to visit both the North Pole and South Pole by surface means and the first to completely cross Antarctica on foot. In May 2009, at the age of 65, he reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Guinness Book of Records founding editor Norris McWhirter in 1984 named Fiennes as the greatest living explorer. Fiennes has written numerous books about his army service and his expeditions as well as books on explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.