Social Studies: Roald Amundsen

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Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen

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Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer, he was the first to reach the south pole and the first to go through the Northwest Passage.

In 1903, Amundsen led the first expedition to successfully traverse the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The used the steel seal hunting ship Gjøa. The ship cleared the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (a cluster of islands in Northern Canada) on August 17, 1905, but had to stop for the winter before going on to Nome on the Alaska Territory's Pacific coast.

Amundsen sent the new King Haakon VII news that it "was a great achievement for Norway." He hoped to do more he said and signed it "Your loyal subject, Roald Amundsen."

He made plans to explore the north pole, but Frederick Cook and then Robert Peary claimed the Pole. So he decided to head to the south pole. Robert F. Scott left a the same time on mission to the south pole. Amundsen's team arrived at the Ross Ice Shelf on January 14, 1911 where Amundsen located his base camp and named it Framheim. The team used skis and sled dogs as opposed to Scott's team who used ponies. Amundsen's team arrived on December 14, 1911, 35 days before Scott's team.

Amundsen disappeared on June 18, 1928 while flying on a rescue mission looking for missing members of Nobile's crew, whose new airship Italia had crashed while returning from the North Pole.His body was never found.

Sources:
Wikipedia