Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (born
October 10,
1861 in Store Frøen, near
Christiania - died
May 13,
1930 in
Lysaker, outside
Oslo) was a
Norwegian explorer, scientist and diplomat. Nansen was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in
1922 for his work as a
League of Nations High Commissioner.
Nansen made his first voyage to
Greenland waters in a
sealing ship 1882, and in
1888 succeeded in crossing the
Greenland icefield on skis from east to west with
Otto Sverdrup,
Olaf Dietrichson,
Kristian Kristiansen Trana,
Samuel Balto and
Ole Nielsen Ravna. In
1893, he sailed to the
Arctic in the
Fram (a purpose-built, round-hulled ship later used by
Roald Amundsen to transport his expedition to
Antarctica) which was deliberately allowed to
drift north through the
sea ice, a journey that took more than three years. During this first crossing of the
Arctic Ocean the expedition became the first to discover the existence of a
deep polar basin. When, after more than one year in the ice it became apparent that
Fram would not reach the
North Pole, Nansen, accompanied by
Hjalmar Johansen (
1867–
1913), continued north on foot and, in April
1895, reached 86° 14´ N, the highest latitude then attained. The two men were forced to spend the winter, surviving on
walrus blubber and
polar bear meat, on
Franz Josef Land, where they eventually, in the summer of
1896, connected with a British expedition led by
Frederick George Jackson.
Nansen was a professor of
zoology and later
oceanography at the
Royal Frederick University in
Oslo and contributed with groundbreaking works in the fields of
neurology and
fluid dynamics.
Nansen was one of the founders of the
neuron theory stating that the
neural network consists of individual cells communicating with each other.
Nansen did extensive research into the behavior and origin of
ocean currents, following his experiences from the Fram expedition. He was, together with the
Swedish mathematician
V. Walfrid Ekman, deeply involved in the discovery of how currents are generated from the planetary rotation and the formulation of the theory of the
Ekman spiral that explains the phenomenon. He also invented a bottle for collection of water samples from various depths known as the
Nansen bottle that, further developed by
Shale Niskin, is still in use.
Before Norway's
dissolution of its union with Sweden on
7 June 1905, Nansen had been a devoted republican, along with other prominent Norwegians like the authors
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and
Arne Garborg. However, after convincing argument by
Sigurd Ibsen and others, Nansen changed his position (as did Bjørnson and Garborg) and was thereafter influential in convincing
Prince Carl of Denmark that he should accept the position as king of Norway. In a referendum where the Norwegian electorate chose between a
monarchy and a
republic, Nansen campaigned for monarchy, certain it was the right thing for Norway, although the general view was that Nansen would be elected President if Norwegians chose republican rule. Carl was crowned as King Haakon VII after the referendum results indicated Norwegians' strong preference for monarchy.
Following Norway's independence, Nansen was appointed as the Norwegian ambassador in
London (
1906-
08) becoming a close friend of
King Edward and assuring support from Britain in the campaign for an international guarantee of Norwegian territorial integrity.
In the period between the wars there was an unsuccessful effort on Nansen's behalf to make him the Prime Minister in a broad government based on all the non-socialist parties to counter the growth of
Arbeiderpartiet, the Norwegian labour party. In
1925 he co-founded Fedrelandslaget (The Fatherland Society), an anti-socialist political organisation that folded at the outbreak of the
Second World War.
After
World War I, Nansen became involved in the
League of Nations as a
High Commissioner for several initiatives, including organisation of exchange of
war prisoners and help to Russian refugees, in which campaign he originated the
Nansen passport for
refugees. He was aided by
Vidkun Quisling in his work to help the Russian peasants. For his work in service of the League of Nations he was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in
1922.
Fridtjof Nansen has had many honors awarded posthumously among which are:
*The
Nansen Refugee Award formerly known as the
Nansen Medal has (since 1955) been given out yearly to
a person or group for outstanding services in supporting refugee causes by the
UNHCR.
*The
Nansen International Office for Refugees, that existed from
1931 to
1939 and was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in
1938, was named after Nansen and was created to continue his work as a High Commissioner.
*The
Royal Norwegian Navy has named the
Fridtjof Nansen class of
frigates, and the lead ship,
HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen after him.
*The Norwegian Humanist Academy,
Nansenskolen is named after Fridtjof Nansen.
*A crater on the
Moon and another on
Mars are named
Nansen.
*The asteroid
853 Nansenia is named after Fridtjof Nansen.
*The
Nansen Institute is named after Nansen, and is located in his old home.
*A school house at the
Anglican Church Grammar School is named after him.
* Nansen, F. (1999).
Farthest North. New York: Modern Library. (English translation of Nansen's own account of the Fram journey.)
*
Huntford, Roland. (1997).
Nansen. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co.
* Nansen, Fridtjof (1911).
In Northern Mists. Arctic Exploration in Early Times . London: Heinemann. 2 vols.
* Nansen, Fridtjof (1895).
The First Crossing of Greenland.Longmans Green.
*
Nobel Prize biography*
Nansen page w/pictures*
Fridtjof Nansen*
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Fridtjof Nansen*
The Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Research Institution on natural resource and environmental policies
