George W. Gibbs Jr. was well known in Rochester, Minnesota, for his community involvement, civil rights activism, and business leadership Gibbs was born on November 7, 1916, and was raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He served in the Civilian Conservation Corps and graduated from Brooklyn Technical School in Brooklyn, New York.
Gibbs served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years. During his distinguished military career, he served on Admiral Richard Byrd's third expedition to the South Pole from 1939-1941. There, he became the first African-American to set foot on the ice shelf of Antarctica. On the morning of Jan. 14, 1940, the Bear dropped anchor in the Bay of Whales — it was a special day for Gibbs, and he recorded the events in his journal: "I was the first man aboard the ship to set foot in Little America and help tie her lines deep into the snow. I met Admiral Byrd; he shook my hand welcomed me to Little America and for being the first Negro to set foot in Little America." He also served as a gunner in the South Pacific during World War II. He retired from the Navy in 1959 with the rank of chief petty officer.
Upon leaving the military, Gibbs moved to Minneapolis where he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
He moved to Rochester, Minnesota in 1963 to work with IBM in the personnel department. After retiring from IBM, Gibbs started Technical Career Placement, Inc.
Gibbs was honored many times over the years for his active contributions to the Rochester community. Gibbs was a former president of the Rochester Kiwanis and the Rochester chapter of the Minnesota Alumni Association. He was a former chairman of Boy Scout Troop 21 and the United Negro College Fund for southeast Minnesota. Gibbs was a recognized leader in the civil rights movement. He helped organize and was active in the Rochester branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was also involved with the Minnesota-North Dakota NAACP Conference. Gibbs garnered national attention in 1974 when he was refused membership in the Rochester Elks Club, presumably because of his race. He was the first person of his race to apply to the club and worked to break the color barrier at service clubs in Rochester. The Rochester branch of the NAACP presented him with the George Gibbs Humanitarianism Award, one of the many honors he received in his life. In 2008, a new elementary school in Rochester, Minnesota was named in his honor by the community.