Nansen, Fridtjof (1861–1930)

Norwegian explorer and scientist. In 1893 he sailed to the Arctic in the Fram, which was deliberately allowed to drift north with an iceflow. Nansen, accompanied by F Hjalmar Johansen (1867–1923), continued north on foot and reached 86° 14′ N, the highest latitude then attained. After World War I, Nansen became League of Nations high commissioner for refugees. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1922 for his relief work after World War I.

Nansen was born in Store-Froen in Norway and studied at Christiana University (now Oslo University) and Naples before leaving to explore arctic regions aboard the vessel Viking in 1882. Upon his return, he was made keeper of the museum of natural history at Bergen, but could not resist the invitation in 1888 to join an expedition to cross the whole of Greenland. He was appointed professor of zoology in 1897 and professor of oceanography at Christiana University in 1908.

Following his academic career, Nansen became a statesman and was involved in the peaceful negotiations that led to the separation of Norway from Sweden. He became Norway's first ambassador to Great Britain in 1906. Following World War I he was involved in the repatriation of prisoners of war in Europe, and from 1921 to 1923, Nansen was in charge of the Red Cross relief of Volga and South Ukraine in Russia.