Lomen Bros. · Public domain
20th century · 1872–1928
Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen · Norway
Norwegian polar explorer and the first person to reach the South Pole
He left Norway aboard the Fram in June 1910 and on 14 December 1911 led a five-man team to become the first to reach the South Pole. The Arctic survival skills he had learned from the Inuit proved vital on the Antarctic expedition. On 18 June 1928 he disappeared on a flight to search for the airship Italia in the Arctic; wreckage of his plane was later found off the coast near Tromsø.
Where the story happened
Los lugares que dejó
Historia · Tromsø and the Arctic Cathedral
The explorers' port of departure
Polar explorers such as Amundsen, Nobile and Nansen relied on Tromsø people's knowledge of the Arctic and often recruited crews here. In 1911 Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole. In June 1928 he flew north in a French-built seaplane to search for the crashed airship 'Italia' and never returned; a float and a fuel tank from the plane were later found off the coast near Tromsø.
