1. NORSE EXPLORERS
LEIF ERIKSON
FRIDTJOF NANSEN
ROALD AMUNDSEN

2. 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.

3. 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).

4. NORSE EXPLORERS

5. 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.

6. 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)

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

8. 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.

9. NORSE EXPLORERS
FRIDTJOF NANSEN

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. NORSE EXPLORERS
FRIDTJOF NANSEN

14. 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.

15. NORSE EXPLORERS NORSE EXPLORERS FRIDTJOF NANSEN FRIDTJOF NANSEN
From , 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. Video: 5 minutes
Nansen video

19. 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.
: went to the
Antarctic on an expedition.
This inspired him to more
expeditions at the top and
bottom of the world.

20. 1903-1906: was first to sail Canada’s Northwest Passage
NORSE EXPLORERS
ROALD AMUNDSEN
: was first to sail Canada’s Northwest Passage

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

22. 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.”

23. NORSE EXPLORERS
ROALD AMUNDSEN

24. 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.

25. 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 It is believed it crashed into the Barents Sea.
He is the first man to stand at both ends of the earth.

26. Video: 1 min 41 seconds Amundsen video:

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