NORSE EXPLORERS LEIF ERIKSON FRIDTJOF NANSEN ROALD AMUNDSEN

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS LEIF ERIKSON LEIF ERICSON born in Iceland around 970 AD grandson of Thorvaldr Åsvaldsson of Norway, who was banished to Iceland, having been charged with manslaughter. son of Eric the Red of Greenland, who was banished from Iceland for manslaughter also, and sailed west and founded land he named Greenland.

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS LEIF ERIKSON LEIF ERICSON Leif sailed from Greenland to Norway in 999 A.D. He then travelled from Norway to Greenland, but was blown off course and landed in the New World (probably Newfoundland) for a brief stay. He again ventured from Greenland to the west, landing in Helluland (Baffin Island), then in Markland (Labrador), then in Vinland (northern Newfoundland).

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NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS LEIF ERIKSON LEIF ERICSON He died between 1019 and 1025. His adventures are chronicled in the Sagas of Iceland. He is widely accepted as discovering America 500 years before Columbus. Leif Erikson Day is celebrated on October 9th.

NORSE EXPLORERS LEIF ERIKSON Statues of Leif Erikson are found all over the world. Norway, Iceland, Canada, and the USA (Chicago, Boston, Seattle, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia)

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN Athlete Explorer Author Oceanographer Statesman Humanitarian Laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize

NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN Born in 1861 near Christiania (Oslo) Inspired to Arctic exploration after taking a voyage on a sealing vessel ‘Viking’ in 1882. Took a post of curator of the Natural History Museum in Bergen for 6 years In 1888, he took a 6-man expedition to Greenland, travelling east to west over the ice cap, overwintering there in temps as low as -45C. He spent time studying the Inuits.

NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTOF NANSEN FRIDTOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN Having observed driftwood on the ice at Greenland, he formulated a theory of the east-west movement of the ocean current from Siberia towards the North Pole, then down to Greenland. He took a crew on a ship named ‘Fram’ (“Forward”), and went off to become frozen in ice in order to prove that the currents did as he theorized. After three years, the Fram drifted as suspected from east to west, and returned to Norway.

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN The Fram had a three-layered hull of oak and greenheart with heavy bracing. It had a rounded shape, so ice could not grip the sides. It was iron-clad fore and aft.

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN Nansen proved there was no land close to the Pole on the Eurasian side, but instead a deep, ice-covered ocean. He discovered a current of warm Atlantic water below the polar ice, and compiled information on currents, winds, and temperatures. He was the father of Oceanography He became a Professor at the University of Christiania. He performed many additional sea expeditions in the Norwegian Sea and Atlantic Ocean, compiling scientific data, including details about animal and plant life of the seas.

NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN

NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN In 1905, the disagreement on the union between Norway and Sweden had deepened into a crisis. Nansen used his leadership talents to affect a treaty that was signed, releasing Norway from Swedish rule. He played a personal part in bringing the Danish Prince Carl to the Norwegian throne as King Haakon VII.

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN From 1906-1908, he became Norway’s ambassador in London. During WWI, he was pivotal in securing shipments of essential supplies, including food, from the Allied Forces, without giving up Norway’s neutrality. He was Norway’s delegate at the League of Nations.

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN He was chosen for the task of negotiating with the Soviets to repatriate prisoners of war to their homelands. He was in charge of the Famine Project when Russia suffered massive crop failures. He also was made High Commissioner for Refugees, which secured “Nansen’ passports and status for displaced persons after WWI. For his efforts, he was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize for Peace.

NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN Though he principally was a statesman in his later years, he always felt he was a scientist and explorer first. He died on May 13th, 1930, quietly at home in Polhøgda near Oslo.

Video: 5 minutes Nansen video https://youtu.be/IiOok-T6ctM

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS ROALD AMUNDSEN ROALD AMUNDSEN Born near Oslo in 1872. Went to medical school, but left to pursue a career at sea. 1897-1899: went to the Antarctic on an expedition. This inspired him to more expeditions at the top and bottom of the world.

1903-1906: was first to sail Canada’s Northwest Passage NORSE EXPLORERS ROALD AMUNDSEN 1903-1906: was first to sail Canada’s Northwest Passage

NORSE EXPLORERS ROALD AMUNDSEN 1910-1912: using Nansen’s ship, the FRAM, he went to the South Pole, arriving there before the Englishman Robert F. Scott.

NORSE EXPLORERS ROALD AMUNDSEN in order. Luck we call it. Defeat is He didn’t tell his crew their destination until one month into their journey on the sea. He was regarded as cold and calculating, but this is exactly why he was successful. In his words: “Victory awaits him who has everything in order. Luck we call it. Defeat is definitely due for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions. Bad luck we call it.”

NORSE EXPLORERS ROALD AMUNDSEN

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS ROALD AMUNDSEN 1925: crossed over the North Pole by airship. Although three others claimed to have already arrived there, those claims were not validated, and Amundsen has been verified as the first to the North Pole.

NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS ROALD AMUNDSEN ROALD AMUNDSEN ROALD AMUNDSEN ROALD AMUNDSEN Amundsen disappeared on a rescue mission flight to the Arctic in 1928. It is believed it crashed into the Barents Sea. He is the first man to stand at both ends of the earth.

Video: 1 min 41 seconds Amundsen video: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/arctic_northpole?source=relatedvideo

FRAM MUSEUM Bygdøynesveien 39, 0286 Oslo, Norway frammuseum.no