Roald Amundsen conquered. Roald amundsen

Norwegian traveler, champion, explorer and great person Roald Amundsen known throughout the world as

the first person to conquer both poles of our planet;
the first person to visit south pole;
first person to make trip around the world with its closure to the North Pole;
one of the pioneers in the use of aviation - seaplanes and airships - in Arctic travel.

Brief biography of Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen ( full name — Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen) born July 16, 1872 in Borg, Norway. His father - Jens Amundsen, hereditary maritime trader. His mother - Hanna Salquist, the daughter of an official from the customs service.

Study at school

Roal was always at school worst student, but stood out for his stubbornness and a heightened sense of justice. The principal of the school even refused him to pass the final exam for fear of disgracing the institution with an underachieving student.

Amundsen had to sign up for the final exams separately, as an external student, and in July 1890 he received his matriculation certificate with great difficulty.

Further studies

After his father's death in 1886, Roald Amundsen wanted to study on a sailor, but the mother insisted that her son choose medicine after receiving his Abitur.

He had to submit and become a medical student at the university. But in September 1893, when his mother suddenly died, he became the master of his fate and, leaving the university, went to sea.

Maritime specialty and travel to the Arctic

For 5 years, Roald sailed as a sailor on various ships, and then passed the exams and received navigator diploma. And in this capacity, in 1897, he finally went to the Arctic with research purposes on board "Belgica", which belonged to the Belgian Arctic expedition.

It was the hardest test. The ship was trapped in the ice, starvation, illness began, people went crazy. Only a few remained healthy, among them was Amundsen - he hunted seals, was not afraid to eat their meat, and thus escaped.

Northwest Passage

In 1903 With the accumulated funds, Amundsen bought a used 47-ton sailing-motor yacht "Yoa" built just in the year of his birth. The schooner had a diesel engine of only 13 horsepower.

Together with 7 members of the team, he went to the open sea. He managed to walk along the coast North America from Greenland to Alaska and open the so-called northwest passage.

This expedition was no less severe than the first. had to endure wintering in the ice, ocean storms, encounters with dangerous icebergs. But Amundsen continued to make scientific observations, and he managed to determine the location magnetic pole Earth.

On a dog sled, he reached the "residential" Alaska. He aged a lot, at 33 he looked 70. Difficulties did not frighten an experienced polar explorer, a seasoned navigator and a passionate traveler.

Conquest of the South Pole

In 1910, he began to prepare a new expedition to the North Pole. Just before going to sea, a message came that North Pole submitted to the American Robert Peary.

The proud Amundsen immediately changed his goal: he decided to go to the South Pole.

Travelers overcame 16 thousand miles in a few weeks, and approached the very ice barrier of Ross in Antarctica. There they had to land on the shore and move on by dog sleds. The path was blocked by icy rocks and abysses; the skis barely slipped.

But despite all the difficulties, Roald Amundsen December 14, 1911 reached the South Pole. Together with his comrades-in-arms, he passed through the ice 1500 kilometers and was the first to hoist the flag of Norway at the South Pole.

polar aviation

Roald Amundsen flew to the North Pole on seaplanes, landed on the island of Svalbard, landed in the ice. In 1926 on a huge airship "Norway"(106 meters long and with three engines) together with the Italian expedition Umberto Nobile and American millionaire Lincoln-Ellsworth Amundsen fulfilled his dream:

flew over the North Pole and landed in Alaska.

But all the glory went to Umberto Nobile. The head of the fascist state, Benito Mussolini, glorified one Nobile, promoted him to the generals, Amundsen was not even remembered.

Tragic death

In 1928 Nobile decided to repeat his record. On the airship "Italy", the same design as the previous airship, he made another flight to the North Pole. In Italy, they were looking forward to his return, a triumphal meeting was being prepared for the national hero. The North Pole will be Italian...

But on way back due to icing, the airship "Italia" lost control. Part of the crew, together with Nobile, succeeded land on the ice. The other part flew away with the airship. Radio contact with the crashed was interrupted.

Amundsen agreed to become a member of one of the rescue expeditions of the Nobile team. June 18, 1928 together with the French crew, he took off in a seaplane Latham-47 towards the island of Svalbard.

This was Amundsen's last flight. Soon radio communication with the aircraft, which was over Barents Sea, interrupted. The exact circumstances of the death of the aircraft and the expedition remained unknown.

In 1928, Amundsen was awarded (posthumously) the highest honor in the United States - Congressional Gold Medal.

Nowadays even a child has general idea about the polar world: snow-white plains, an amazing natural phenomenon the northern lights, giant icebergs and amazing sea animals - polar bears or penguins.

How many dangers are fraught with these unusual corners of the Earth. Despite all the obstacles travelers and seafarers is drawn to the North and South Poles, trying to fill in the “blank spots” on the world map and prove to everyone and to himself that a person is capable of taking risks. One of the first who managed to conduct successful polar navigation was the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen. One managed to become the first person to visit the North Pole, while the other reached the South Point before anyone else.

In the south of Norway in the town of Borg on July 16, 1872 in the family of a shipbuilder Amundsen, the youngest son, Roald, was born. Roal dreamed of connecting his life with the sea. AT seaport where the boy lived, they came and he went to the pier in any weather to watch them. There he heard from the stories of experienced sailors about adventures and exploits at sea. Roald hoped that one day he too would set off to discover uncharted lands. Norwegian Roald Amundsen since childhood, he dreamed about the Arctic and prepared for future campaigns, training hard and enthusiastically reading all the literature available to him about the development of the North. Amundsen was greatly impressed by the hardships that the team of John Franklin, an English explorer and notorious polar explorer, had to overcome.

The young man took up ski training. In this sport, he achieved excellent success. In addition, accustoming yourself to the cold, Amundsen slept with the window open even in the most severe cold.

Roald, at the age of 18, obeying the wishes of his mother, entered Faculty of Medicine university. The young man did not try to show himself in the field medical research, so over time he left the university and was drafted into the army. Thanks to diligent training, Amundsen easily overcame this segment in his life. Dreams of future campaigns inspired him in everything.

Amundsen student

In 1894 Amundsen started preparing for the upcoming navigation. By that time he had read a lot of books available to him about the Arctic. To gain experience as a sailor, he set sail, starting as a sailor. Studying navigation, he gradually rose to the rank of navigator, and then passed the exam for the rank of ship's captain. With time Amundsen learned to steer a ship in storms and became an experienced mate and an excellent navigator.

maps depicting the North Arctic Ocean, in the days of Amundsen were not at all what they are now

In 1897, twenty-five-year-old Roald Amundsen set off for Antarctica on a research ship. Belgica» as the first navigator. The journey proved difficult and unsuccessful. The ship was stuck between the ice for thirteen months. Almost the entire leadership of the expedition fell ill with scurvy, and command passed to the young navigator. Amundsen Thanks to his knowledge of medicine, he saved most crew. Seafarers managed to escape from the ice trap in 1899 and the ship " Belgica returned to Europe.

Thanks to the experience gained Amundsen successfully passed the exams and in 1900 started organizing his own expedition as a captain. Taking out a loan for his own house, he bought a yacht " yoa» with a displacement of 47 tons and a length of 21 meters. To hire a team and buy food, he had to ask friends for help and look for sponsors.

On the night of July 16, 1903, the yacht yoa"With a team of seven people, she left the port of Tromsø and headed for Alaska through Baffin Bay, moving between the islands of the northern coast of Canada. The difficult navigation was nevertheless completed in 1905. This meant that he made a trip to the Northwest Passage, thereby 34-year-old Amundsen accomplished a feat that failed his "adviser" John Franklin.

polar explorer John Franklin

Upon returning home Amundsen instantly became famous and he toured the United States, lecturing in many cities. The money he received allowed him to pay his debts. But this independence did not last long. Planning a new expedition, Amundsen soon ran into new debts. Finding money for the expedition was not easy. more than once they tried to get to the North Pole, but to no avail. The most famous was Nansen's attempt. He built " fram”, which was specially adapted for sailing in the Arctic climate, but he failed to reach the target. Roald Amundsen decided to enlist the support of his famous predecessor. He met with Nansen and he approved his plan. Moreover, the great navigator donated Amundsen schooner " fram', thus appointing him as his successor. It also helped solve financial difficulties- Investors believed in the plan.

navigator Amundsen

polar explorer Amundsen

schooner "Fram"

arrival at the South Pole

sending to an unknown destination

sailing ship "Maud"

Amundsen went on a campaign in early August 1910. A depressed mood reigned among the members of the expedition. They did not talk about it out loud, but the success of the explorer Peary, who reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909, had an unpleasant effect on the mood of the team. Watching this state of affairs, Amundsen secretly made a decision. Out to sea, the schooner fram followed an unexpected path. The ship was supposed to move towards the Arctic, but it continued to go through Atlantic Ocean. The sailing crew was alarmed, but Amundsen, the captain and chief leader of the expedition knew where his schooner was heading. October 12, when the schooner fram» approached the island of Madeira off the coast North Africa, the secret is out. Amundsen called the team and announced the change of course. He decided that since he failed to become the discoverer of the North Pole, he would conquer the South. Information about the change of course led the team to delight and breathed excitement.

In February 1911, when southern hemisphere summer is over schooner« fram reached the shores of Antarctica. Primarily sailors organized a base and equipped several warehouses. With the onset of winter, the main part of the expedition remained to wait it out in the camp. The rest of the group of people, consisting of four people on October 19, 1911, left the base by dog sled, rushing into the depths of the continent. The team covered up to 40 km a day and on December 14, 1911 reached its goal - the South Pole. After three days of observations carried out at this point on the planet, a group of researchers led by Amundsen returned to the camp. The Norwegian public rejoiced. Everyone congratulated Amundsen on his feat. The government has encouraged navigator and discoverer generous reward.

But the scientist was not satisfied with the collected materials, therefore, on June 7, 1916, on the Maud ship, built for his own money Amundsen went on a second voyage. This ship had a lot of new instruments at that time, which made it possible to better maneuver in the ice. Roald Amundsen put almost all his money into it, undertaking another polar feat. His goal was again the North Pole. Stay on your own northern point Land remained the navigator's most notable dream. Amundsen decided to first open the Northeast Passage along the northern coast of Russia. On July 16, 1918, Roald Amundsen sailed on the Maud along the northern coast of Russia to the Bering Strait. With great difficulty, he reached Alaska in 1920. The polar explorer broke his arm and was forced to change course to Seattle to provide medical care and ship in need of repair. Thus ended the second Amundsen's expedition.

Amundsen conducted brilliant expeditions, visited the Arctic and Antarctica. He became the most famous polar explorer, but it was the Arctic, so beloved by the explorer, that eventually killed him.

A certain Italian aeronaut Umberto Nobile in 1928 decided to conquer the North Pole by getting there by airship. However, after takeoff, Nobile crashed. Several rescue groups immediately rushed to his aid, one of them was Amundsen. Previously, they knew each other - together they participated in a joint expedition on the airship "Norway" in 1926. However, later the relationship between them suddenly turned into a hostile one. Nevertheless, the decision to participate in the rescue of the expedition of the Italian Amundsen accepted without delay.

The crew of a large seaplane Latam-47"consisted of Norwegians and French. In its composition Amundsen took off in an unknown direction. Needless to say, he carefully concealed his intentions. He did not inform anyone about the chosen route, which subsequently extremely complicated the search. Didn't leave Amundsen and records, with journalists was brief and restrained. The great traveler, as if preparing in advance for the tragedy - he sold his property, paid off his creditors. Eyewitnesses claim that far-sighted Amundsen didn't even take an emergency ration, just a few sandwiches. Norway for a long time refused to believe in the death of its national hero. Death Amundsen officially recognized only six months after the disappearance of the seaplane. The country honored the memory of the famous polar explorer with a few minutes of silence. And General Nobile, Amundsen's rival, having learned about the death of the Norwegian, found the courage to say out loud: “ He defeated me».

in honor of the Norwegian navigator and explorer Roald Amundsen named a mountain in East Antarctica, a bay of the Arctic Ocean near the coast of Canada, a basin in the Arctic Ocean located between the Lomonosov and Gakkel ridges and the sea Pacific Ocean off the coast of Antarctica. Created in Norway historical Museum dedicated to the great polar explorers.

monument on the island of Svalbard. From here Amundsen went on an expedition

museum in Oslo, Norway

Amundsen-Scott polar station at the South Pole

B - studied at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of.
He sailed as a sailor and navigator on various ships. Starting with, he made a number of expeditions that became widely known.
Passed for the first time (-) on a small fishing vessel "Joa" by the North-West passage from East to West from to.
On the ship "Fram" went to; landed at the Bay of Whales and reached the South Pole on dogs, a month ahead of the English expedition.
In the summer, the expedition left on the Maud ship and reached.
In headed the 1st transarctic flight on the airship "Norway" along the route: - -.
During an attempt to find the Italian expedition of U. Nobile, who crashed in the Arctic Ocean on the Italia airship, and to help her, Amundsen, who took off on the Latham seaplane, died in.

Youth and first expeditions

Amundsen was born in 1872 in Borge, near the town of Sarpsborg, in the southeast, into a family of sailors and shipbuilders. When he was 14 years old, his father died and the family moved to the capital of Norway, Christiania (since 1924 -). The older brothers connected their fate with the sea, and the younger, Roal, at the request of his mother, entered the medical faculty of the university. But he always dreamed of traveling, and his favorite reading was the books about exploration by the English navigator John Franklin. At the age of 21, after the death of his mother, Roald left the university. He wrote afterwards:

“It was with unspeakable relief that I left the university to give myself to the only dream of my life with all my heart”.

Amundsen devotes himself entirely to the study of maritime affairs. He is employed on cargo and fishing vessels that ply. Like, Roalle devotes a lot of time to training and developing his body.

Northwest Sea Route

Returning from Antarctica, a young Norwegian captain decided to conquer Northwest Passage, that is, sail the shortest route from to around the Arctic coasts. Sailors and geographers have struggled with this problem for four centuries to no avail.

He bought a fairly used 47-ton sail-motor "Joa" ("Gjøa"), carefully repaired it, tested it on several trial voyages and Mr. Amundsen, with six companions, left Norway on board the "Joa" Arctic expedition. The schooner crossed the North Atlantic, entered Baffin Bay, then crossed the Straits of Lancaster, Barrow, Peel, Franklin, James Ross, and in early September was wintered off the southeast coast of King William Island. Amundsen made friends with those who had never seen white people before, bought deer-fur jackets and bear mittens from them, learned how to build a needle, harvest (food from dried and crushed seal meat), and also handle husky huskies.

The wintering went well, but the bay in which the schooner was stationed was not free of ice in the summer of the city, and the Joa remained for the second wintering, at which time the whole world considered her missing. Only the ship was able to break out of the ice captivity, and the Norwegians went further west. After three months of tension and tedious waiting, the expedition discovered a ship on the horizon that had sailed from - the North-Western route had been passed. But soon after that, the ship froze into the ice, where it remained all winter.

In an effort to inform the world about the achievement of the expedition, Amundsen, together with the captain of the American ship, sets off in October on a 500 trip to Eagle City, where the nearest connection to the outside world was located. This hard way he did it on dog sleds, and, having crossed mountains of almost 3-kilometer height, he reached the city, from where he announced to the world about his feat. Amundsen later recalled:

“When I returned, everyone determined my age between 59 and 75 years, although I was only 33”.

Brought to them scientific materials have been processing for many years, and, but learned societies different countries accepted him as an honorary member.

Conquest of the South Pole

Amundsen is 40 years old, he reads reports in and around, his travel notes became a bestseller. But a new daring polar project is brewing in his head - conquest. The explorer's plan was to get to the North Pole on a ship frozen in. The ship needed for this has already been built. Amundsen struck up a relationship with and asked him to provide for the "Fram" ("Fram", "forward") event, on which Nansen and the team spent 3 years - drifting with ice to the North Pole.

But Amundsen's plans were shattered when news arrived that two Americans - Frederick Cook in April and Robert Peary in April - had conquered the North Pole. Amundsen changes the purpose of his expedition. Preparations continue, but the destination changes to . Everyone knew at the time that the Englishman was also preparing for his second attempt to reach the South Pole. Amundsen, driven by his ambition to be first, decided to get there before him. However, the Norwegian polar explorer carefully concealed the purpose of the upcoming expedition. Even the Norwegian government did not know about this, as Amundsen feared that he would be forbidden to go to the South Pole. Such conditions were dictated by the fact that it was highly dependent on the economy, and most importantly - politically.

“Death is near. For God's sake, take care of our loved ones!"

The remains of Scott and his companions were found only next summer. They died just 20 kilometers from the nearest food camp.

This tragedy excited the whole world and greatly overshadowed the success of Amundsen, in February he issued a statement, which included the following words:

“I would sacrifice fame, absolutely everything, to bring him back to life ... My triumph is overshadowed by the thought of his tragedy, it haunts me.”

Northeast Sea Route

Upon his return from Antarctica, Amundsen set about organizing a long-planned expedition to the Arctic Ocean, but the one that had begun prevented him. Still, by the summer of the year, the expedition was equipped and in July left the shores of Norway on a new, specially built vessel "Maud" ("Maud"). Amundsen intended to pass along the coast of Siberia, which in the West is commonly called the Northeast Passage, and then freeze the ship into ice and turn it into a drifting scientific station. The expedition was loaded with tools for research, study terrestrial magnetism and was at that time the most equipped of all that had ever been sent to polar research.

Ice conditions in the summer of 1918 were very difficult, the ship moved slowly, getting stuck in the ice every now and then. For, which they circled, the ice finally stopped the ship, and they had to prepare for wintering. Only a year later, the Maud was able to continue its journey to the east, but this voyage lasted only 11 days. The second wintering off Aion Island took ten months. In the summer, Mr. Amundsen brought the ship to a village in Alaska.

Transarctic flights

As a polar explorer, Amundsen showed due interest in. When the world record for the duration of the flight (a machine designed by Junkers) at 27 hours was set in the city, Amundsen had the idea of an air flight through the Arctic. At financial support American millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth (Lincoln Ellsworth) Amundsen buys two large ones that can take off from water and from ice.

Last years and death

Returning to his house in Bunne, near Oslo, great traveler lived a gloomy hermit, more and more withdrawn into himself. He never married and had no long-term relationship with any woman. At first, his old nanny ran the household, and after her death, he began to take care of himself. It did not require much effort: he lived in a Spartan way, as if he was still aboard the Gyoa, the Fram, or the Maud.

Amundsen was getting weird. He sold all orders, honorary awards and openly quarreled with many former associates. in the year wrote to one of his friends

“I get the impression that Amundsen has completely lost peace of mind and is not fully responsible for his actions.

Amundsen's main enemy was Umberto Nobile, whom he called "an arrogant, childish, selfish upstart", "a ridiculous officer", "a man of a wild, semi-tropical race."

Compositions

R.Amundsen's stories in Russian Biography, Roald Amundsen and St. Petersburg.

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was born (July 16, 1872 - June 18, 1928) - Norwegian polar traveler and record holder, "Napoleon of the polar countries" in the words of R. Huntford.
First person to reach the South Pole (December 14, 1911). First person (with Oscar Wisting) to visit both geographic poles planets. The first traveler to make sea passage Northwest Passage(along the straits of the Canadian archipelago), later made the transition by the North-East route (along the coast of Siberia), for the first time closing the circumnavigation distance beyond the Arctic Circle. One of the pioneers in the use of aviation - seaplanes and airships - in Arctic travel. He died in 1928 while searching for the missing expedition of Umberto Nobile. He had awards from many countries of the world, including the highest award of the United States - gold medal Congress, numerous geographical and other objects are named after him.

Oranienburg, 1910

Unfortunately, his dream - to conquer the North Pole - was not given to come true, as Frederick Cook was ahead of him. This American polar explorer was the first to reach the North Pole on April 21, 1908. After that, Roald Amundsen radically changed his plan and decided to direct all his forces to conquer the South Pole. In 1910 he went to Antarctica on the Fram.

Alaska, 1906

But still, on December 14, 1911, after a long polar winter and an unsuccessful exit in September 1911, the expedition of the Norwegian Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole. Having made the necessary measurements, on December 17, Amundsen was convinced that he was really in the very middle point pole, and 24 hours later, the team headed back.

Svalbard, 1925

Thus, the dream of the Norwegian traveler, in a sense, came true. Although Amundsen himself could not say that he had achieved the goal of his life. That wouldn't be entirely true. But, if you think about it, no one has ever been so diametrically opposed to his dream, in literally the words. All his life he wanted to conquer the North Pole, but turned out to be a pioneer to the South. Life sometimes turns everything inside out.

Roald Amundsen is a Norwegian polar explorer, explorer, champion in many fields. He was the first to reach the South Pole, visited the two geographic poles of the earth, which attracted him like a magnet all his life. Amundsen made many important discoveries, which proved to be very useful in further study polar regions.

short biography

The future researcher was born on July 16, 1872 in Borg, in the family of a Norwegian sea merchant. With early years he literally raved about traveling, and prepared for them to the best of his ability: he went in for sports, tempered himself, enthusiastically studied the literature about polar expeditions.

Roald wanted to learn to be a sailor, but at the insistence of his mother he was forced to study medicine. Orphaned in 1893 and becoming the master of his own destiny, Amundsen left the institute and went to sea.

Rice. 1. Roald Amundsen.

Having sailed for five years, and trained as a navigator, Roal went to the shores of the cherished Arctic as part of a Belgian expedition.

The first expedition to the Arctic turned out to be an incredibly difficult test. The ship was compressed by ice, people went crazy from hunger and disease. Few managed to survive. Among the lucky ones was also Roald, who hunted seals and did not disdain to eat their raw meat.

In 1903, Amundsen purchased a battered motor sailing yacht, the Gjoa, to fulfill his lifelong dream of conquering the North. His team consisted of only seven people, and the equipment was very modest, but this did not stop the traveler.

Conquest of the South Pole

In 1910, Roald Amundsen began active training for a new expedition. However, his plans changed after the news that the North Pole had been conquered by Robert Peary.

The ambitious traveler decided not to waste time, and with a team of like-minded people went to the South Pole. In just a few weeks, they covered more than 16,000 miles. Having come close to the Ross ice barrier, the travelers were forced to disembark and transfer to dog teams.

Rice. 3. South Pole.

On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole, having traveled more than 1,500 kilometers across the ice. He was the first person to step on the harsh polar lands, and in honor of this event hoisted the flag of Norway at the South Pole.

During dangerous travels, Amundsen mastered all the means of transportation known at that time: Various types ships, skis, dog sleds, and even airships and seaplanes. Roald Amundsen became one of the pioneers of polar aviation.

The brave traveler met his death at the North Pole. Having set off in 1928 in search of the missing Nobile expedition, after a while he stopped communicating. The exact circumstances of the tragic death of Amundsen have not yet been clarified.