Otto Neumann SVERDRUP

1854 - 1930  (76 years)

• Name	Otto Neumann SVERDRUP
  Birth	31 Oct 1854	Bindal, Nordland, Norway
  	Hårstad farm
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Arctic Explorer
  Death	26 Nov 1930
  Notes	Otto Sverdrup (pronounced sver´droop) was born on October 31, 1854 on farm named Hårstad near Bindal, Norway. He began his maritime career at the age of 17, working on ships owned by an uncle. By the age of 23 he was captain of the steamboat Trio, and at about the same time met explorer Fridtjof Nansen. In 1888 he joined his first Arctic exploration party, Nansen's very difficult journey across the Greenland ice cap. His personal accomplishments on that journey led to him being hired as captain of the Fram (which he had helped design and rig) for Nansen's 1893-1896 attempt to reach the North Pole. Though unsuccessful, they did attain a new "furthest north" record. In 1898 he headed north with the Fram again, this time with the aim of getting as far north as possible up the west coast of Greenland, then circumnavigating the island by dog sled. Extensive ice made that unattainable, so Sverdrup headed west into what is now Canada's Arctic Archipelago, returning to Oslo in 1902. Among the significant achievements of that expedition were the first exploration and mapping of the south and west coasts of Ellesmere Island, and the discovery and naming of Axel Heiberg Island, the Ringnes Islands, the Sverdrup Isalnds and many other locations. A total of 260,000 square kilometers was charted - more than any other polar exploration. His two-volume Nyt Land: Fire Aar i Arktiske Egne, published in 1903, described his 1898-1902 voyage. It was translated and published in English the following year as New Land: Four Years in the Arctic Regions. In 1959, a popular-press adaptation of the 1904 issue, entitled Sverdrup's Arctic Adventures, was published. In 1914 he returned to the Arctic, undertaking a successful search-and-rescue mission in the Kara Sea, and in 1928 he was involved in the search for the Italian explorer Umberto Nobile's and his balloon Italia. Otto Sverdrup died on November 26, 1930. Sverdrup is surprisingly little known outside his native country. Most of the Web sites about him are in Norwegian, and most of the English-language sites are full of errors even in the most basic facts such as his birth and death dates. An indication of the high esteem in which Sverdrup is held in Norway can be seen by the fact that Norwegian Air Shuttle has honoured their native son by painting a huge portrait of him on the tail of one of their Boeing 737-300 jets, registration LN-KKH. From Wikipedia Otto Neumann Sverdrup was a native of Bindal, Nordland county, Norway, known for his achievements within the areas of Arctic science and exploration. His father was born on Buøy in Nærøy municipality, at that time Kolvereid municipality. As oldest son he was heir to the Sverdrup properties at Buøya. However, he left it all to his younger brothers and went to Åbygda in Bindal, to the farm named Hårstad, where Otto Sverdrup was born. In 1872, at the age of 17, Otto Sverdrup returned to Nærøy, to Ottersøy where his uncle Søren worked in transportation with his own vessels. Here Sverdrup started his career as a seaman and after a while he was sailing abroad. In 1875 he passed his mate's examination, and some years later the shipmaster's examination. In 1877 Sverdrup's parents moved from Bindal to the farm Trana situated outside Steinkjer. At this time O.T. Olsen, a teacher and employee in the bank at Kolvereid and a relative of his mother, had purchased the steamboat TRIO. Sverdrup was employed as captain. Around this time Sverdrup also met the lawyer Alexsander Nansen who lived in Namsos. He was the brother of Fridtjof Nansen and through him Sverdrup and Fridtjof Nansen learned to know each other. Sverdrup joined Fridtjof Nansen's expedition of 1888 across Greenland. In 1893 he was given command of the Fram, and in 1895 he was left in charge of it while Nansen attempted to reach the North Pole. Setting out in 1898, Sverdrup attempted to circumnavigate Greenland via Baffin Bay but failed to make it through the Nares Strait. Forced to overwinter on Ellesmere Island, he and his crew explored and named many uncharted fjords and peninsulas on the western shores of the island (explaining the Norwegian names in the Canadian Arctic). Between 1899 to 1902, he overwintered three more times on Ellesmere Island, continuing to explore and map, culminating in the discovery of the islands to the west of Ellesmere Island, namely Axel Heiberg, Amund Ringnes and Ellef Ringnes, collectively known as the Sverdrup Islands. In adopting Inuit methods, Sverdrup and his crew were able to chart a total of 260,000 square kilometers - more than any other polar exploration. Upon his return in Norway, he was treated as a national hero. However, he remains relatively unknown in North America. Sverdrup claimed all three islands he discovered for Norway, setting off a sovereignty dispute with Canada, which was not settled until 1930 when Norway ceded its claim. Canada bought the records of Sverdrup's expeditions in 1931 for $67000 and are now archived in the National Archives of Canada.
  Person ID	I12170	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	28 Jul 2007

  
  

  Father	Ulrik F. S. SVERDRUP,   b. Abt 1833, Nærøy, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
  Mother	Petra,   b. Abt 1832, Bindal, Nordland, Norway
  Family ID	F9126	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart