Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his Fram expedition of 1893–1896. Nansen devoted himself primarily to the League of Nations, following his appointment in 1921 as the League’s High Commissioner for Refugees.

About Fridtjof Nansen in brief

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his Fram expedition of 1893–1896. His techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Nansen devoted himself primarily to the League of Nations, following his appointment in 1921 as the League’s High Commissioner for Refugees. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel peace Prize for his work on behalf of the displaced victims of the First World War and related conflicts. His name is commemorated in numerous geographical features, particularly in the polar regions. He married twice, the second time to Adelaide Johanne Thekla Isidore Bølling Wedel Jarlsberg from Bærum. He had three children; the first died in infancy, and the second, Baldur Fridtj of Nansen, was a lawyer without ambitions for public life, who became Reporter to the Supreme Court of Norway. His son, Hans Leierdahl Nansen, was a magistrate first in the Trondheim district, later in Jæren. After Norway’s separation from Denmark in 1814, he entered national political life as the representative for Stavanger in the first Storting, and became a strong advocate of union with Sweden.

In later life he settled in Copenhagen, becoming the city’s borgmester in 1654. Later generations of the family lived in Copenhagen until the mid-18th century, when Ancher Antoni Nansen moved to Norway. His son was an early explorer of the White Sea region of the Arctic Ocean. He died in 1930, after which the League established the Nansen International Office for Refugees to ensure that his work continued. The Nansen passport was a certificate that used to be recognised by more than 50 countries, and is still recognised by some of them today. He was also a keen skier, and at the age of 10 he defied his parents and attempted to jump at the nearby ski jump at Huseby. This exploit had near-disastrous consequences, as landing on landing near the nearby Husebby undimmed, as soon as they saw there was a shout of laughter in me… Nansen’s enthusiasm for skiing was so great that he dug deep into the snow, pitching the boy forward, and came down again into the air.. I came down down again in the air in a fine arc in the winter. The long winter months were devoted mainly to skiing, which Nansen began to practice for two months the fall of the year. In the summer the main activities were swimming and fishing, while in the autumn the chief pastime was hunting for game in the forests.

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Nansen’s Fram expedition Nobel Prize Nobel Peace Prize Nobel Prize in Physics