Fridtjof Nansen

Who is Fridtjof Nansen?

Fridtjof Nansen was born near Christiania (now Oslo) and became renowned as an explorer, oceanographer, scientist, and humanitarian. In 1888 he led the first crossing of the Greenland interior on skis, and in the 1890s he devised a bold plan to reach the North Pole by allowing his purpose-built ship Fram to freeze into the Arctic ice and drift with the currents; though he did not reach the pole, he achieved a record northern latitude. His scientific work advanced the fields of neurology and oceanography. After the First World War, Nansen became a leading figure in international humanitarian relief, organizing the repatriation of prisoners of war and famine relief in Russia. He created the "Nansen passport" for stateless refugees, and for this humanitarian work he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

Sources: Fridtjof Nansen, Farthest North (Fram over Polhavet), 1897 · Fridtjof Nansen, The First Crossing of Greenland (På ski over Grønland), 1890 · Nobel Peace Prize 1922 (nobelprize.org)