The Arctic conquered mankind at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. This hard-to-reach region was explored by daredevils from many countries: Russia, Norway, Sweden, Italy, etc. The history of the discovery of the Arctic is not only a scientific, but also a sports race that continues to this day.
Niels Nordenskiöld
Polar explorer Nils Nordenskiöld (1832-1901) was born in Finland, which then belonged to Russia, however, being a Swede by origin, he spent his expeditions under the Swedish flag. In his youth, he visited Svalbard a lot. Nordenskjöld became the first traveler to "take up" the Greenland ice sheet. All famous Arctic explorers of the early 20th century deservedly considered him the godfather of their craft.
The main achievement of Adolf Nordenskiöld was his expedition along the Northeast Passage in 1878-1879. The Vega steamer was the first in one trip to pass along the northern coasts of Eurasia and completely circled the huge mainland. The merits of Nordenskiöld are appreciated by descendants - numerous geographical objects of the Arctic are named after him. This includes an archipelago near Taimyr, as well as a bay near Novaya Zemlya.
Robert Pirie
Name of Robert Peary (1856-1920)- special in the history of polar expeditions. It was he who was the first explorer of the Arctic who conquered the North Pole. In 1886, a traveler set out to cross Greenland on a sleigh. However, in that race, he lost to Fridtjof Nansen.
Arctic explorers back then were extreme in an even greater sense than they are now. Modern equipment did not yet exist, and the daredevils had to act almost blindly. Intending to conquer the North Pole, Piri decided to turn to the life and traditions of the Eskimos. Thanks to the "cultural exchange", the American abandoned the use of sleeping bags and tents. Instead, he resorted to the practice of building an igloo.
Piri's main journey is his sixth Arctic expedition in 1908-1909. The team included 22 Americans and 49 Eskimos. Although, as a rule, Arctic explorers went to the ends of the earth with scientific tasks, Peary's venture took place solely due to the desire to set a record. The North Pole was conquered by polar explorers on April 6, 1909.
Raoul Amundsen
The first time Raoul Amundsen (1872-1928) visited the Arctic was in 1897-1899, when he took part in the Belgian expedition, in which he was the navigator of one of the ships. After returning to his homeland, the Norwegian began to prepare for an independent trip. Prior to this, Arctic explorers mostly traveled with large teams on several ships. Amundsen decided to abandon this practice.
Polar explorer bought a small yacht "Yoa" and assembled a smalla detachment that could independently feed itself by gathering and hunting. This expedition started in 1903. The starting point of the Norwegian was Greenland, and the final one was Alaska. Thus, Raoul Amundsen was the first to conquer the Northwest Passage - the sea route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It was an unprecedented success. In 1911, the first polar explorer in the history of mankind reached the South Pole. Later, Amundsen became interested in the use of aviation, including airships and seaplanes. The explorer died in 1928 while searching for the missing expedition of Umberto Nobile.
Nansen
Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) took up the study of the Arctic literally out of sporting interest. A professional skater and skier, he decided to cross the huge ice sheet of Greenland on skis at the age of 27 and made history on his first attempt.
The North Pole had not yet been conquered by Piri, and Nansen decided to reach the coveted point, drifting along with the ice on the Fram schooner. The ship was trapped in ice to the north of Cape Chelyuskin. The polar explorer's team went further on a sleigh, but in April 1895, having reached 86 degrees north latitude, they turned back.
In the future, Fridtjof Nansen did not participate in pioneering expeditions. Instead, he immersed himself in science, becoming an eminent zoologist and the author of a dozen studies. In the status of a well-known public figure, Nansen fought the consequences of the First World War in Europe. He helped refugees from different countries and the starving people of the Volga region. ATIn 1922, a Norwegian explorer of the Arctic was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Umberto Nobile
Italian Umberto Nobile (1885-1978) is known not only as a polar explorer. His name is associated with the golden era of airship building. Amundsen, who was on fire with the idea of flying over the North Pole, met the aeronautical specialist Nobile in 1924. Already in 1926, the Italian, in the company of the Scandinavian argonaut and the American eccentric millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth, set off on a landmark flight. The airship "Norway" followed an unprecedented route Rome - the North Pole - the Alaska Peninsula.
Umberto Nobile became a national hero, and Duce Mussolini made him a general and an honorary member of the Fascist Party. The success prompted the airship builder to organize a second expedition. This time, Italy played the first violin in the event (the polar explorers' aircraft was also named "Italy"). On the way back from the North Pole, the airship crashed, part of the crew died, and Nobile was rescued from the ice by the Soviet icebreaker Krasin.
Chelyuskintsy
The feat of the Chelyuskinites is a unique page in the history of the development of the polar frontiers. It is associated with an unsuccessful attempt to establish navigation along the Northern Sea Route. She was inspired by the scientist Otto Schmidt and the polar explorer Vladimir Voronin. In 1933, they equipped the Chelyuskin steamer and set off on an expedition along the northern coast of Eurasia.
Soviet Arctic explorers sought to prove that the Northern Sea Route can be passed not only on a specially prepared ship, but also on a simple dry cargo ship. Of course, it was a gamble, and its doom became clear in the Bering Strait, where a ship crushed by ice was wrecked.
The crew of the Chelyuskin was hastily evacuated, and a government commission was created in the capital to organize the rescue of polar explorers. People were returned home by air bridge with the help of aircraft. The history of "Chelyuskin" and its crew conquered the whole world. Rescue pilots were the first to receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Georgy Sedov
Georgy Sedov (1877-1914) connected his life with the sea in his youth, having entered the Rostov nautical classes. Before becoming an Arctic explorer, he participated in the Russo-Japanese War, during which he commanded a destroyer.
Sedov's first polar expedition took place in 1909, when he described the mouth of the Kolyma River. Then he explored Novaya Zemlya (including its Cross Lip). In 1912, a senior lieutenant proposed to the tsarist government a project for a sledge expedition, the purpose of which was the North Pole.
The authorities refused to sponsor a risky event. Then he raised money from private funds and nevertheless organized the trip. His ship "Saint Foka" was blocked by ice near Novaya Zemlya. Then Sedov fell ill with scurvy, but anyway, accompanied by several comrades, he went on a sleigh to the North Pole. The polar explorer died on the way near Rudolf Island, where he was buried.
Valery Chkalov
Most often Russian explorers of the Arctic are associated with ships, sledges and dog teams. However, pilots also made their contribution to the study of the polar expanses. The main Soviet ace Valery Chkalov (1904-1938) in 1937 made the first non-stop flight from Moscow to Vancouver via the North Pole.
The brigade commander's mission partners were co-pilot Georgy Baidukov and navigator Alexander Belyakov. In 63 hours, the ANT-25 plane traveled a distance of 9,000 kilometers. In Vancouver, reporters from all over the world were waiting for the heroes, and US President Roosevelt personally received the pilots at the White House.
Ivan Papanin
Almost certainly Ivan Papanin (1894-1896) was the most famous Soviet Arctic explorer. His father was a Sevastopol port worker, so it is not surprising that the boy caught fire at the sea from early childhood. In the north, Papanin first appeared in 1931, visiting Franz Josef Land on the Malygin steamer.
Thundering fame came to the explorer of the Arctic at the age of 44. In 1937-1938. Papanin supervised the work of the world's first drifting station "North Pole". Four scientists spent 274 days on the ice floe, observing the Earth's atmosphere and the hydrosphere of the Arctic Ocean. Papanin twice became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
