Biography Category
Name :
Roald Amundsen
Date :
Views :
587
Category :
Birth Date :
21/05/1872
Birth Place :
Borge, Norway
Death Date :
1928
In the world of polar exploration, Roald Amundsen stands at the very pinnacle of those who risked life and limb to establish the realities of the extremities of Earth. He was the leader of the first group ever to reach the South Pole and to navigate the North West Passage. He also led many other daring if not always successful expeditions. As such, he will always be remembered as a truly great explorer.[br /]
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Born in Borge, Norway (1872), from a young age Amundsen dreamt of becoming a polar explorer. He fed his appetite for the trade by reading of such men as Sir John Franklin, who attempted to navigate the North West Passage, an expedition from which he never returned. Amundsen’s father, who died when his son was but a teenager had earned a living as a merchant seaman, so the youngster was exposed to the life of a sea traveller, which would be helpful as he made his first tentative steps in the exploring profession.[br /]
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Roald’s mother had different ideas for her son though, and partly to appease her he enrolled at medical college. She too though died, soon after he began studying and he decided to pursue the profession of explorer full time. As a grounding for this he entered the Norwegian navy in 1894, studying science and embarking on several mini expeditions.[br /]
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In 1897 Amundsen jumped at the chance to be a crewmember aboard the ‘Belgica’, to study the geography of the Antarctic coast. On its travels, the boat became stuck in the unforgiving ice and was marooned for thirteen months. The expedition leader, Captain de Gomey fell ill with the curse of the sailor – scurvy – and the young Amundsen took control of the vessel. For reasons of survival he organised the crew to catch seals for food and to work with wool to provide warm clothes. They had to wait patiently until 1899 when they broke free of the ice under Amundsen’s direction.[br /]
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Roald’s mother had different ideas for her son though, and partly to appease her he enrolled at medical college. She too though died, soon after he began studying and he decided to pursue the profession of explorer full time. As a grounding for this he entered the Norwegian navy in 1894, studying science and embarking on several mini expeditions.[br /]
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In 1897 Amundsen jumped at the chance to be a crewmember aboard the ‘Belgica’, to study the geography of the Antarctic coast. On its travels, the boat became stuck in the unforgiving ice and was marooned for thirteen months. The expedition leader, Captain de Gomey fell ill with the curse of the sailor – scurvy – and the young Amundsen took control of the vessel. For reasons of survival he organised the crew to catch seals for food and to work with wool to provide warm clothes. They had to wait patiently until 1899 when they broke free of the ice under Amundsen’s direction.[br /]
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Now he looked to lead expeditions himself. The North West Passage still remained unconquered and it was this route that Amundsen set as his goal. He announced ostensibly that he wished to locate magnetic north, a target which soon had various companies offering funding for the expedition. His crew set off from Oslo in 1903 onboard the ‘Gjoa’. [br /]
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Sailing off Canada’s northwest coast Amundsen had to supervise the navigation of ice floes and shallow waters. Coupled with the windy, foggy conditions this made his task intensely testing. It was accomplished effectively though and the ship was able to dock at King William Island, very near to magnetic north.[br /]
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Sailing off Canada’s northwest coast Amundsen had to supervise the navigation of ice floes and shallow waters. Coupled with the windy, foggy conditions this made his task intensely testing. It was accomplished effectively though and the ship was able to dock at King William Island, very near to magnetic north.[br /]
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The group began gathering data concerning magnetic north in order to fulfil their obligations to the companies that had funded the trip. As far as Roald Amundsen was concerned though, it was only half a job done, the completion of the North West passage being his true goal. They remained in the area for two years in all, during which time they were able to learn many aspects of survival from the local Eskimos.[br /]
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In 1905, the crew set off once more. Again the waters were very shallow, but eventually they arrived in the North Pacific – they were the first people to successfully navigate the North West passage.[br /]
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However, as in Amundsen’s first expedition in the southern hemisphere, the ship became stuck in ice. Amundsen set off over the frozen wastes of northern Alaska, powered by teams of dogs, a method of travel he had perfected under tutelage of the Inuit population. Eventually, after travelling nearly three thousand miles this way, he reached a civilized outpost, and was able to tell the world of his feat.[br /]
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The Norwegian became popular on the lecture circuit and was able to use the money to complete payment for the North West Passage expedition. Now his mind turned to the North Pole, Amundsen’s first love. He planned to drift over the pole aboard a ship named ‘Fram’. However in 1909, the news that American Robert Peary had reached the North Pole (the first ever to do so) was relayed to him, so the Scandinavian had to rapidly effect a change of plan.[br /]
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Secretly he made plans for an assault on the South Pole, a destination that English explorer Robert Falcon Scott had already set off to. The secrecy was necessary because he believed the Norwegian government might veto the trip, for fear of damaging relations with the English government. Once away from dry land he announced his intentions to the crew and then forwarded a telegram to Scott, warning him of his imminent challenger.
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In 1905, the crew set off once more. Again the waters were very shallow, but eventually they arrived in the North Pacific – they were the first people to successfully navigate the North West passage.[br /]
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However, as in Amundsen’s first expedition in the southern hemisphere, the ship became stuck in ice. Amundsen set off over the frozen wastes of northern Alaska, powered by teams of dogs, a method of travel he had perfected under tutelage of the Inuit population. Eventually, after travelling nearly three thousand miles this way, he reached a civilized outpost, and was able to tell the world of his feat.[br /]
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The Norwegian became popular on the lecture circuit and was able to use the money to complete payment for the North West Passage expedition. Now his mind turned to the North Pole, Amundsen’s first love. He planned to drift over the pole aboard a ship named ‘Fram’. However in 1909, the news that American Robert Peary had reached the North Pole (the first ever to do so) was relayed to him, so the Scandinavian had to rapidly effect a change of plan.[br /]
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Secretly he made plans for an assault on the South Pole, a destination that English explorer Robert Falcon Scott had already set off to. The secrecy was necessary because he believed the Norwegian government might veto the trip, for fear of damaging relations with the English government. Once away from dry land he announced his intentions to the crew and then forwarded a telegram to Scott, warning him of his imminent challenger.
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[b]Roald Amundsen[/b] returned a failure and as such there was little interest in his lectures. He wished to fly over the North Pole but no one would finance him. That was until American Lincoln Ellsworth took an interest in his work and provided the funds for two flying boats. In May 1925 he set off but the trip was another failure – one plane broke down in Alaska and the other was lucky to reach the safety of an island.[br /]
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Unperturbed, Ellsworth continued to fund the Norwegian and in 1926 the pair sailed in an airship from Spitzbergen, over the North Pole, finally landing in Alaska (another first). Onboard with them was a pilot and also the designer of the airship, Umberto Nobile. [br /]
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Two years later the Italian Nobile again attempted an airship journey over the North Pole, but crashed somewhere in the Arctic. Amundsen didn’t hesitate to effect a rescue, even though the pair had argued bitterly over the design of the original airship. He set off in an airplane which crashed somewhere over the frozen waste. Roald Amundsen was never seen again.[br /]
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Unperturbed, Ellsworth continued to fund the Norwegian and in 1926 the pair sailed in an airship from Spitzbergen, over the North Pole, finally landing in Alaska (another first). Onboard with them was a pilot and also the designer of the airship, Umberto Nobile. [br /]
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Two years later the Italian Nobile again attempted an airship journey over the North Pole, but crashed somewhere in the Arctic. Amundsen didn’t hesitate to effect a rescue, even though the pair had argued bitterly over the design of the original airship. He set off in an airplane which crashed somewhere over the frozen waste. Roald Amundsen was never seen again.[br /]
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The Norwegian base camp at the Bay of Whales gave them a distinct advantage over the Englishmen. It was closer to the South Pole and there was a plentiful supply of seals for food. Also, they were adept in using dog teams, a method the English were reluctant to use.[br /]
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Setting off on October 19, 1911, the group had to navigate the crevasses and ice bridges of the Axel Heiburg glacier and it was heavy going. After passing the glacier, the team were able to use the dogs and specially adapted skis to make rapid progress. Just under a month after they had set off they reached the South Pole, the first humans ever to do so. [br /]
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Not one to rest on his laurels, Amundsen began planning to drift over the North Pole as he had intended previously. Unfortunately, the expedition was ruined by the onset of World War One. The expedition finally set off in 1918, aboard the ‘Maud’. Many technological instruments were taken to measure oceanographic, meteorological and earth magnetism factors. Although much data was collected the expedition was a failure. After being frozen in the ice for two years they set off again only to become stuck off northeast Russia.[br /]
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Setting off on October 19, 1911, the group had to navigate the crevasses and ice bridges of the Axel Heiburg glacier and it was heavy going. After passing the glacier, the team were able to use the dogs and specially adapted skis to make rapid progress. Just under a month after they had set off they reached the South Pole, the first humans ever to do so. [br /]
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Not one to rest on his laurels, Amundsen began planning to drift over the North Pole as he had intended previously. Unfortunately, the expedition was ruined by the onset of World War One. The expedition finally set off in 1918, aboard the ‘Maud’. Many technological instruments were taken to measure oceanographic, meteorological and earth magnetism factors. Although much data was collected the expedition was a failure. After being frozen in the ice for two years they set off again only to become stuck off northeast Russia.[br /]
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