1897    Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North pole by balloon. He later crashes and dies.

1996    Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, a Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev Tu-154, crashes into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, killing all 141 aboard.

2006    Prime ministers of several northern European nations participate in a ceremonial "laying of the first stone" at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Spitsbergen, Norway.