Roald Amundsen First Expeditions The South Pole Later Life

Amundsen was born to a family of Norwegian shipowners and captains. Inspired by Fridtjof Nansen's crossing of Greenland in 1888 he decided on a life of exploration.

1 First expeditions

He joined the Belgian Antarctic Expedition ( 1897– 1899) as second mate. Led by Adrien de Gerlache, their ship the Belgica became the first to winter in AntarcticaAntarctica (from Greek nu;ταρκτικ&sigmaf opposed to the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earth's South Pole. It is the coldest place on earth and is almost entirely covered by ice. It is not to be confused with the. Also on board was an American doctor, Frederick CookFrederick Albert Cook ( June 10, 1865 1940) was an American explorer and physician. Cook was born at Callicoon Depot, New York, on June 10, 1865. His parents were Dr. Theodore A. Koch and Magdalena Koch, recent German immigrants to the USA. He attended Co. Cook probably saved the crew from scurvyScurvy is a disease that results from insufficient intake of vitamin C and leads to the formation of livid spots on the skin, spongy gums and bleeding from almost all mucous membranes. The spots are most abundant on the thighs and legs, and a person with, an important lesson for Amundsen's future expeditions.

In 19031903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasn't had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. Events January 1 Edward VII of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Emperor of India Amundsen led the first expedition to traverse the Northwest PassageThe Northwest Passage is a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic archipelago of Canada. Between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, Europeans attempted to establish a commercial sea route north and west around between the AtlanticFor other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation The Atlantic Ocean is Earth's second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. The ocean's name, derived from Greek mythology, means the " Sea of Atlas". This ocean occupies an elongated, and Pacific OceanFor other meanings of pacific see pacific (disambiguation). The Pacific Ocean (from the Spanish Pacifico meaning peaceful is the world's largest body of water. It encompasses a third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 179. 7 million km² (69. 4 mills, with six others in the ship Gjøa ("Bay"). They traveled via Baffin BayBaffin Bay is a sea between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is 1,130 km (700 mi) across from north to south. It is not navigable most of the year because of the presence of large numbers of icebergs. Baffin Bay is bounded by Baffin Island in the west,, Lancaster and Peel Sound s, and James Ross and Rae Strait s to spend two winters exploring over land and ice from the place today called Gjoa Haven , Nunavut, Canada.

During this time Amundsen studied the local Netsilik people in order to learn Arctic survival skills and soon adopted their dress. From them he learned to use sled dogs. Continuing to the south of Victoria Island, the ship cleared the Arctic Archipelago on August 17, 1905, but had to stop for the winter before going on to Nome on the Alaska Territory's Pacific coast. 500 miles (800 km) away, Eagle City, Alaska , had a telegraph station; Amundsen traveled there (and back) overland to wire a success message ( collect) on December 5, 1905. Nome was reached in 1906. Due to water as shallow as 3 feet (1 m), a larger ship could never have used the route.

2 The South Pole

After the Northwest Passage Amundsen made plans to go to the North Pole. On hearing in 1909 that first Cook and then Robert Peary claimed the Pole, he changed his plans. Using Fridtjof Nansen's ship Fram ("Forward") he set out for Antarctica instead in 1910. On January 14, 1911 they arrived at the Ross Ice Shelf at a location known as the Bay of Whales. Amundsen set his base there and named it Framheim, literally, "Home of the Fram." It was 60 miles closer to the Pole than McMurdo Sound where the rival British expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott stayed. But Scott had a route, discovered by Ernest Shackleton, up the Beardmore Glacier to the Antarctic Plateau. Amundsen would have to find his own path through the Trans-Antarctic Mountains.

During February and March Amundsen and his men laid supply depots at 80°, 81° and 82° South. This gave him experience of Antarctic conditions and their equipment. During the winter at Framheim they kept busy improving the equipment, particularly the sleds.

Amundsen began his drive for the pole on October 20, 1911, and along with Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, arrived at the Pole on December 14, 1911, 35 days before Scott. Scott had the misfortune to find Amundsen's tent and his letter upon arrival. Amundsen's extensive experience, preparation, and use of the best sled dogs available paid off in the end. In contrast to the misfortunes of the Scott expedition, the Amundsen expedition proved rather smooth and uneventful.

As neither expedition carried the very bulky wireless telegraphy equipment which would then have been the only way to communicate directly from the Pole, Amundsen's success was not publicly announced until March 7, 1912. Amundsen recounted his journey in the book The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram", 1910–1912.

3 Later life

In 1918 Amundsen began an expedition with a new ship Maud to explore the North East Passage . It did not meet its goals and was considered a failure. In 1925 with Lincoln Ellsworth and four others he flew to 87° 44' north in two airplanes. It was the northernmost latitude reached by airplane up to that time. The following year Amundsen, Ellsworth and Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile made the first crossing of the Arctic in the airship Norge designed by Nobile. They left Spitzbergen May 11, 1926 and landed in Alaska two days later.

Amundsen died in 1928 in an airplane crash in the Arctic Ocean while on a rescue mission for Nobile, whose next airship the Italia had crashed. Amundsen's body was never found.

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is named jointly after him and his rival.

Amundsen Sea, off the coast of Antarctica, is named for him.

A large crater covering the Moon's south pole is named Amundsen Crater after him.

The Norwegian Navy is building a class of Aegis frigates, one of which, the HNoMS Roald Amundsen , will be named after him.

4 External links

eTexts of Amundsen's works, at Project Gutenberg
Arthur G. Chater's 1912 translation of The South Pole
Short biography from Norwegian Foreign Ministry

5 Bibliography

Roald Amundsen's Belgica Diary. The first Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic by Hugo Decleir Bluntisham Books, Erskine Press.

Amundsen, Roald Amundsen, Roald Amundsen, Roald Amundsen, Roald Amundsen, Roald

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