Roald Amundsen was born on July 16, 1872, in Borge, near Oslo, Norway, and died June 18, 1928 in the Artic Ocean.  He was one of the greatest figures in the field of polar exploration. He was the first explorer to transit the Northwest Passage (1903–05), the first to reach the South Pole (1911), and the first to fly over the North Pole in an airship (1926). 

In 1903 Roald Amundsen and his crew aboard the sloop Gjøa began a mission to sail through the Northwest Passage and around the northern Canadian coast. They reached Cape Colborne (in present-day Nunavut) in August 1905, overwintered at Herschel Island in the Yukon, and arrived in Nome, Alaska, in August 1906 to a heroes’ welcome.

In 1928 Roald Amundsen lost his life flying to rescue Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile, whom he had accompanied in a dirigible flight over the North Pole in 1926, from a dirigible crash at sea near Spitsbergen, Norway. The airplane carrying Amundsen, searching for survivors of Nobile’s crash, also crashed, and Amundsen’s remains were never found.

Beyond his achievements as an explorer, Amundsen was known for his meticulous planning, attention to detail, and focus on practicality. He understood the importance of careful preparation, scientific observations, and learning from indigenous communities. Amundsen’s meticulous approach to exploration set a benchmark for future expeditions and influenced subsequent generations of polar explorers. His contributions to the field of exploration and his indomitable spirit continue to inspire adventurers and scientists alike.