richardevelynbyrdjr

This is a photo of Commander (later Admiral) Richard E. Byrd (USN).

See

"Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. ... Byrd's expertise in aerial navigation resulted in his appointment to plan the flight path for the U.S. Navy's 1919 transatlantic crossing." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Byrd

Interesting effect with pencil behind ear and cigarette...

Art Siegel Agreed ... I'd like to find the original this was cropped from. It almost looks like 'early' photo manipulation, given the lack of any apparent opening in his lips...

I think the next 4 photos may have been part of one original.
In this photo, for instance, Lt. Com. Byrd was originally standing to the right of CommanderBellinger his left shoulder is in the Byrd picture:

These photos seem connected to the March, 1919 effort to fly NC seaplanes ("Nancies") across the Atlantic in competition with the British: "Three aircraft would attempt the trip, NC-1, NC-3 and NC-4. As NC-1 had been damaged during a March storm, one wing of the experimental NC-2 was used to refit it. To increase the margin of safety, a fourth pusher-type engine was added behind the original central engine. Next, the Navy selected crews to man the three planes, appointing Towers as commanding officer. Crews came from the Regular Navy, the Naval Reserve and the U.S. Coast Guard. Towers chose NC-3 as his flagship, and Richardson was picked as chief pilot. Patrick N.L. Bellinger was chosen as commander for NC-1 and Albert C. Read for NC-4. Marc Mitscher, originally picked to command the now scrubbed NC-2, became NC-1‘s pilot. In addition, the airplanes carried radio operators, flight engineers and mechanics. During WWI, Richard E. Byrd had experimented with a number of scientific instruments, ranging from drift indicators to bubble sextants, that were useful in navigating over water, without visual landmarks. Although Byrd lobbied hard to join the 1919 flight, instead the Navy assigned him to plan the navigation for the flying boats only as far as Trepassey Bay." more at www.historynet.com/aviation-history-three-us-flying-boats...