Fridtjof Nansen (1861  1930) 

Fridtjof Nansen is the worlds most famous polar explorer, and he was also an outstanding scientist, later professor in both zoology and oceanography. He achieved world wide fame and acclamation for his expeditions across Greenland and ”Fram”s journey across the Arctic ocean. Nansen was a skilled cross-country skier, and by skiing across Greenland he earned a reputation for being a trailblazer. In 1890, he contacted the ship constructor Colin Archer, and comissioned a vessel that would endure extreme iceconditions. The ship was called ”Fram” and it was launched in 1892. Using ”Fram”, Nansen tried to float across the north pole in 1893 – 1896. He never reached the north pole, but with Hjalmar Johansen he set the farthest-to-the-north record, 86º 14’. The ship itself drifted to 85º 59’ , also a formidable record. In 1909 Nansen gave Amundsen permission to use ”Fram” on his planned attempt to reach the north pole.

In 1905, Fridtjof Nansen played a prominent part in dissolving the union between Sweden and Norway, and his capabilities as a statesman were obvious. After World War 1, he lead big relief-work in the Soviet Union. He put all his efforts into matters pertaining to international law and into issues regarding refugees. In 1922, Fridtjof Nansen was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his untiring humanitarian efforts, one of these efforts was the establishment of the Nansen passport for stateless refugees.

In the year 2000, the readers of the Norwegian newspaper ”Aftenposten” elected Fridtjof Nansen as Man of the Century.