Roald AmundsenDied 16 Jun 1928 at age 55 (born 16 Jul 1872).Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer who is remembered as one of the great polar explorers. In his twenties, he interrupted his studies in medicine to join the first winter expedition to the Antarctic, sailing (1897) as first mate on the Belgica, a Belgian expedition. On his next voyage (1903-06) he established the Northwest Passage. In 1904 he located the site of the North Magnetic pole. When he turned his attention to the Antarctic, he achieved his quest to be the first to reach the South Pole (14 Dec 1911). After three unsuccessful attempts, he was among the first to cross the Arctic by air in 1926 when he made a flight by dirigible from Spitsbergen, across the North Pole, to Alaska. He died in another flight over the Arctic (Jun 1928) during a search for survivors of a shipwreck.« |
