Who’s Who
for Polar Exploration
from Polar Discovery by the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution
Amundsen, Roald: Norwegian
explorer who in 1911 was the first to reach the South Pole.
Barents,
William: a Dutch explorer, tried
three times during 1594 to 1597 to find “The Northeast Passage” along the coast of Siberia.
Baron
Nordenskiöld, Baron: found a
Northeast Passage in 1878..
Bering,
Vitus: a Russian who led expeditions exploring and mapping the northern coast
of Russia from 1725-1742.
Cook,
James: provided the first well-documented proof of
the existence of a frozen southern continent in 1772-1775, and in 1776-1779
he tried to find the supposed Northwest Passage.
Davis, John: American captain who in 1821 was the first to land on
the Antarctic continent.
Henson, Matthew: may have, with Robert Perry, have been the first to reach the North Pole in 1908.
Scott, Robert Falcon:
led a 1902 expedition trying to reach the South Pole. He succeeded in 1912, but died on the way back.
Shackleton, Ernest:
went with Scott on the 1902 attempt to reach the South Pole, led an
expedition in 1907-1909 to within
97 miles of the South Pole, and led the 1914-1917 expedition of the Endurance.
