Rare Portraits of Roald Amundsen. The First Person to Reach the South Pole
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (16 July 1872 – c. 18 June 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the Antarctic expedition (1910-12) to become the first men to reach the South Pole in December 1911. In 1926, he was the first expedition leader to be recognized without dispute as having reached the North Pole. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage (1903–06).
Amundsen disappeared in June 1928 while taking part in a rescue mission when his plane crashed into the Arctic ocean. Amundsen, Douglas Mawson, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton were key expedition leaders during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
To learn more about Amundsen, be sure to check out his Wikipedia page. There’s also a great bio on Amundsen on PBS.org. Below you will find some rare portraits of the polar explorer. Most are from the National Library of Norway which has an extensive collection of images on Flickr Commons.
1. Oslo, 1899
via National Library of Norway
Roald Amundsen in polar gear after returning from the Belgian Antarctic Expedition 1897-1899.
2. Oranienburg, 1910
via National Library of Norway
Roald Amundsen in the workroom at Oranienburg, 1910
3. Alaska, 1906
via National Library of Norway
4. Svalbard, 1925
5. circa 1875
via National Library of Norway
6. Antarctica, 1897-1898
via National Library of Norway
At this time one knew that the dangerous disease scurvy was due to vitamin C deficiency, but they had learned that fresh and not cooked through meat in the diet counteracted the disease. Amundsen hunted extensively during the expedition to supply the crew with meat.
7. circa 1909
8. Alaska, 1906
via National Library of Norway
9. January 16, 1913
via National Library of Norway
Roald Amundsen (1872-1928), Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) Robert Edwin Peary Og (1856-1920) receiving the National Geographic Society’s Gold Medal.
10. circa 1926
11. circa 1912
12. Oslo, 1899
via National Library of Norway
Roald Amundsen in polar gear after returning from the Belgian Antarctic Expedition 1897-1899.
If you enjoyed this post, the Sifter
highly recommends:

Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.