Many consider Fridtjof Nansen to be one of the greatest men Norway has ever nurtured. Even during his lifetime he became a legend; he was the personification of a great hero; the first among sportsmen, explorers, research workers, statesmen and humanitarians. Long after his death millions continued to remember him as the foremost exponent of […]
Explorers Nansen, Fridtjof (1861-1930) Many consider Fridtjof Nansen to be one of the greatest men Norway has ever nurtured. Even during his lifetime he became a legend; he was the personification of a great hero; the first among sportsmen, explorers, research workers, statesmen and humanitarians. Long after his death millions continued to remember him as the foremost exponent of human compassion. As a young man he led courageous expeditions to arctic climes. The first when he was 27 years old, when he crossed the inland ice of Greenland on ski, and then five years later when he sailed over the Polar Sea with the polar ship Fram. As a scientist he was a pioneer in a number of fields within the spheres of zoology and oceanography. During the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905, his qualities as a respected statesman emerged. After the First World War he devoted his energies to people in need in a way which gave humanitarian relief work a new dimension. Wherever Nansen turned his attention, there were lasting traces of his efforts. Fridtjof Nansen lived in a time which needed a man of his stature. Through the different phases of his life he developed the skills necessary for the tasks which confronted him. It was as if he was called by time to answer the challenges which lay in wait for him. In the years of his youth a widespread appreciation for nature developed in Norway - the mountain kingdom was discovered once and for all. Outdoor life became fashionable and those who developed physical fitness and stamina were the ideal. These were times which needed new ideals. Heroes no longer wore uniform or shining armour, but the white coat of the scientist or the worn furs of the polar explorer. Undiscovered areas of the globe were waiting to be conquered, unknown seaways charted. This was a time for individual courage, stamina and will-power. For a man of Nansen's aptitudes it was impossible to remain unaffected by the challenges. Some will say that ambition drove him and he would not have denied this himself. He did not consider ambition a lesser motive, but something which would facilitate human progress. His ambition was not for personal, material gain, or for the sake of power; he had no time for these things. His was the ambition which leads to new possibilities for the greater happiness of humanity, a richer quality of life, deeper insight, understanding and broader knowledge - it was an incentive one should appreciate. If through the example of his life and work he could awaken such ambition in others, he was happier and in greater harmony with himself. This was his appeal to youth whom he urged to seek the spirit of adventure in life, to listen to the call of constant challenge. «It is within us all, it is our mysterious longing to accomplish something, to fill life with something more than a daily journey from home to the office and from the office home again. It is our ever present longing to surmount difficulties and dangers, to see that which is hidden, to seek the places lying away from the beaten track; it is the call of the unknown, the longing for the land beyond, the divine power deeply rooted within the soul of man; it is this spirit which drove the first hunters to new places and the incentive for perhaps our greatest deeds - the force of human thought which spreads its wings and flies where freedom knows no bounds». The Years of his Youth Fridtjof Nansen was born in Christiania, later called Oslo, on the 10th of October 1861. His father was a lawyer in private practice. Both his parents had been married before and each had children from their previous marriages. These half brothers and sisters, who were many years older, looked after Fridtjof and his younger brother, Alexander, during their childhood. The older half brothers especially, played a major part in laying the foundation for the love of and affinity to nature which Fridtjof developed, and which followed him throughout his life. Their home lay at the edge of Nordmarka - an expansive area of forests and open countryside, with streams and fishing waters. This natural environment where he spent his childhood and youth helped to form his character. The group of youths to which he belonged organised sports competitions both summer and winter, and he quickly learned that his physical strength won the respect of others. The Nansen family had restricted economic resources which gave cause for continuous anxiety in relation to financing the children's education. When Fridtjof had completed his schooling at the gymnasium, his father, therefore, advised him to apply to the Officers' Academy, where education was free and where his son, as an officer, would be afforded ample opportunity to roam in nature just as he wished. However, it transpired that Fridtjof began to study zoology at the University in 1881. Soon after he began his studies he received an offer which was to bring about a complete change in the direc...