Roald Amundsen

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Lore & Background

Amundsen was born into a family of Norwegian shipowners and captains in Borge, Østfold. His mother wanted him to become a doctor, a promise he kept until she died when he was aged 21. He promptly quit university for a life at sea. When he was fifteen, he was enthralled by reading Sir John Franklin's narratives of his overland Arctic expeditions, writing: 'I read them with a fervid fascination which has shaped the whole course of my life.' He began his polar career as first mate on Adrien de Gerlache's Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899, which became the first expedition to overwinter in Antarctica. From 1903 to 1906, he led the first expedition to successfully traverse the Northwest Passage on the sloop Gjøa. During two winters at King William Island, he and his crew learned from the local Netsilik Inuit about Arctic survival skills—using sled dogs for transport and wearing animal skins instead of heavy woolen parkas. In 1909, Amundsen began planning for a South Pole expedition. He left Norway in June 1910 on the ship Fram and reached Antarctica in January 1911. His party established a camp at the Bay of Whales called Framheim. Using skis and dog sleds, they created supply depots at 80°, 81° and 82° South on the Barrier. On 19 October, a team of five—Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, Oscar Wisting, and Amundsen—departed with four sledges and 52 dogs. They arrived at the edge of the Polar Plateau on 21 November via the Axel Heiberg Glacier. On 14 December 1911, the team and 16 dogs reached the South Pole, a month before Scott's group. They left a small tent and letter stating their accomplishment. The team arrived back at Framheim on 25 January 1912 with 11 surviving dogs. Following a failed attempt in 1918 to reach the North Pole by traversing the Northeast Passage on the ship Maud, Amundsen began planning for an aerial expedition. On 12 May 1926, Amundsen and 15 other men in the airship Norge became the first explorers verified to have reached the North Pole. He disappeared in June 1928 while flying on a rescue mission for the airship Italia in the Arctic; the search for his remains was called off that September.

Reader's Guide

Roald Amundsen's significance lies in his pioneering achievements in polar exploration: first to traverse the Northwest Passage (1903–1906), first to reach the South Pole (14 December 1911), and first verified to reach the North Pole by airship (12 May 1926). His South Pole expedition benefited from careful preparation, good equipment, appropriate clothing (Inuit-style furred skins), a simple primary task, an understanding of dogs and their handling, and effective use of skis. In contrast to the misfortunes of Scott's team, Amundsen's trek proved relatively smooth and uneventful. He also learned Arctic survival skills from the Netsilik Inuit during his Northwest Passage expedition, which he found invaluable later. His disappearance during a rescue mission for the airship Italia underscores the dangers of polar aviation. The search for his remains was called off in September 1928.

Did You Know?

• Amundsen was an occasional childhood playmate of pioneering Antarctica explorer Carsten Borchgrevink.
• During his Northwest Passage expedition, Amundsen had his magnetic instruments adjusted by Don C. Sowers, a physicist from the Carnegie Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism.
• Amundsen planned to kill most of his dogs on the South Pole trek and use them as fresh meat; he butchered some and fed them to the remaining dogs, and also ate some himself.
• Amundsen sent a telegram to Robert F. Scott from Madeira: 'Beg to inform you Fram proceeding Antarctic – Amundsen.'
• The search for Amundsen's remains, which have not been found, was called off in September 1928.