Born on July 4, 1872, Roald Amundsen would grow up to become one of Norway's most legendary explorers. A towering figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, he racked up an astonishing series of firsts: first to reach the South Pole, first to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage, and first to traverse the Arctic Basin by air. To this day, his achievements and enduring legacy continue to captivate and inspire people around the world.

Sometimes a single book can alter the entire trajectory of a life — and that's exactly what happened to Amundsen. As a young man, he had been on track to pursue medicine, a path his family strongly favored. But everything changed when he encountered the narratives of Sir John Franklin describing Arctic expeditions. Those tales gripped him so completely that exploration became an all-consuming passion. After his mother passed away when he was 21, he abandoned his medical studies for good and threw himself into a seafaring life, his ambitions firmly fixed on the unknown. What followed was a remarkable string of accomplishments. In 1906, he became the first person to navigate the dangerous waters of the Northwest Passage. Then, in 1911, after numerous other explorers had tried and failed, he planted his feet at the South Pole — the first human being ever to do so. And by 1926, he had claimed yet another milestone as the first explorer to reach the North Pole by air.

Tragically, Roald Amundsen lost his life in 1928 during a rescue mission for a friend whose plane had gone down on an expedition to the North Pole. His friend and eight other crew members were ultimately found and brought to safety, but Amundsen's own rescue aircraft crashed as well. The remains of his flight were never recovered.

Fun Facts about Roald Amundsen:

  • During one of his Arctic explorations, Amundsen tried to tame a polar bear — an endeavor that went badly wrong when the animal attacked him and nearly took his life.
  • The beloved children's author Roald Dahl was actually named after Roald Amundsen.
  • He lived among the Netsilik Inuit for two years, immersing himself in their culture and studying their techniques for surviving in polar environments.
  • As he flew over the North Pole, Amundsen dropped the Norwegian flag from his aircraft, cementing his status as a national hero in Norway.