Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Encyclopedia
Freiherr
Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (ˈnuːrdenʃœld), also known as A. E. Nordenskioeld (18 November 1832, Helsinki
, Finland
– 12 August 1901, Dalbyö, Södermanland
, Sweden
) was a Finnish baron, geologist
, mineralogist and arctic explorer of Finnish-Swedish origin. He was a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish
Nordenskiöld
family of scientists. Born in the Grand Duchy of Finland
at the time it was a part of the Russian Empire
, he was later, due to his political activity, forced to live in political exile in Sweden
, where he later would become a member of the Parliament of Sweden
and the Swedish Academy
. He is most remembered for the Vega
expedition along the northern coast of Eurasia
, which he led in 1878-1879. This was the first complete crossing of the Northeast Passage.
were an old Finnish-Swedish family, and members of the nobility
. Nordenskiöld's father, Nils Gustav Nordenskiöld, was a prominent Finnish mineralogist, civil servant, and traveller. He was also a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
.
Adolf Erik was the father of Gustaf Nordenskiöld
(explorer of Mesa Verde) and Erland Nordenskiöld
(ethnographer of South America
) and maternal uncle of Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (another polar explorer [note the different spelling of the latter's family name]).
, the capital of Finland, but he spent his early youth on the family estate in Mäntsälä
. He went to school in Porvoo
, a small town on the south coast of Finland. He then entered the Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki in 1849 where he studied mathematics
, geology
, and applied himself especially to chemistry
and mineralogy
. He received his masters degree in 1853. Two years later, he published his dissertation, entitled "Om grafitens och chondroditens kristallformer" (On the crystal forms of the graphite
and chondrodite
).
Upon his graduation, in 1853, Nordenskiöld accompanied his father to the Ural Mountains
and studied the iron
and copper
mines at Tagilsk
; on his return he received minor appointments both at the university and the mining office.
In 1856, Nordenskiöld was appointed Docent
in Mineralogy at the university. However, for political reasons he had to flee in the following year to Sweden, where he was called to the office of Director of the Mineralogical Department of the Swedish Museum of Natural History
and to a professor
ship in Mineralogy at the Swedish Academy of Sciences. He married in 1863 Anna Maria Mannerheim, the aunt of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
.
Having studied under Runeberg
he belonged to Liberal
, anti-tsar
ist circles that agitated for Finland's liberation from Russia by the Swedes during the Crimean War
; and an unguarded speech at a convivial entertainment in 1855 drew the attention of the Imperial Russian authorities to his political views, and led to a dismissal from the university.
He then visited Berlin
, continuing his mineralogical studies, and in 1856 obtained a travelling stipend from the university in Helsinki and planned to expend it in geological research in Siberia
and Kamchatka
. Upon returning he took his master's and doctor's degree in 1857 as a scholar of chemistry and geology, specializing in iron and copper-mining. He then aroused the suspicion of the authorities again, so that he was forced to leave Finland, practically as a political refugee
, and was deprived of the right of ever holding office in the university of Finland.
As Nordenskiöld spoke Swedish
as his mother tongue, a natural place for him to settle was nearby Stockholm
. He soon received an offer from Otto Torell
, the geologist, to accompany him on an expedition to Spitsbergen
. To the observations of Torell on glacial
phenomena Nordenskiöld added the discovery at Bell Sound
of remains of Tertiary
plants, and on the return of the expedition he received the appointment of professor and curator of the mineralogical department of the Swedish Museum of Natural History
(Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet).
Nordenskiöld's participation in three geological expeditions to Spitsbergen, followed by longer Arctic explorations in 1867, 1870, 1872 and 1875, led him to attempt the discovery of the long-sought Northeast Passage
. This he accomplished in the voyage of the Vega, navigating for the first time the northern coasts of Europe and Asia. Starting from Karlskrona
on 22 June 1878, the Vega doubled Cape Chelyuskin
in the following August, and after being frozen in at the end of September near the Bering Strait
, completed the voyage successfully in the following summer. He edited a monumental record of the expedition in five volumes, and himself wrote a more popular summary in two volumes.
On his return to Sweden
he received an enthusiastic welcome, and in April 1880 was made a baron and a commander of the Order of the North Star. In 1883, he visited the east coast of Greenland
for the second time, and succeeded in taking his ship through the great ice barrier, a feat attempted in vain during more than three centuries. The captain on the Vega expedition, Louis Palander
, was made a nobility at the same time, and took the name Palander af Vega.
In 1893, Baron Nordenskiöld was elected to the 12th chair of the Swedish Academy
.
He left his huge personal collection of early maps to the University of Helsinki
, and it was inscribed on UNESCO
’s Memory of the World Register in 1997.
had been originally named "Nordenskiöld Sea" , after this Arctic explorer. The Nordenskiöld Archipelago
and the Nordenskiöld crater
on Mars
were also named in his honor.
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (ˈnuːrdenʃœld), also known as A. E. Nordenskioeld (18 November 1832, Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
– 12 August 1901, Dalbyö, Södermanland
Södermanland
', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) was a Finnish baron, geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, mineralogist and arctic explorer of Finnish-Swedish origin. He was a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish
Finland-Swedish
Finland Swedish is a general term for the closely related cluster of dialects of Swedish spoken in Finland by Swedish-speaking Finns as their mother tongue...
Nordenskiöld
Nordenskiöld (surname)
Nordenskiöld or Nordenskjöld can refer to a number of Finland-Swedish or Swedish people :* August Nordenskiöld, alchemist* Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld, mineralogist and traveller...
family of scientists. Born in the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
at the time it was a part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, he was later, due to his political activity, forced to live in political exile in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, where he later would become a member of the Parliament of Sweden
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
and the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
. He is most remembered for the Vega
Vega (ship)
SS Vega was a Swedish barque, built in Bremerhaven Germany in 1872. She was the first ship to complete a voyage through the Northeast Passage, and the first vessel to circumnavigate the Eurasian continent.-Construction:...
expedition along the northern coast of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, which he led in 1878-1879. This was the first complete crossing of the Northeast Passage.
Nordenskiöld family
The NordenskiöldsNordenskiöld (surname)
Nordenskiöld or Nordenskjöld can refer to a number of Finland-Swedish or Swedish people :* August Nordenskiöld, alchemist* Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld, mineralogist and traveller...
were an old Finnish-Swedish family, and members of the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
. Nordenskiöld's father, Nils Gustav Nordenskiöld, was a prominent Finnish mineralogist, civil servant, and traveller. He was also a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
.
Adolf Erik was the father of Gustaf Nordenskiöld
Gustaf Nordenskiöld
Gustaf Nordenskiöld , Swedish scholar of Finnish descent, a member of the Nordenskiöld family of scientists and the eldest son of polar explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and Anna Maria Mannerheim...
(explorer of Mesa Verde) and Erland Nordenskiöld
Erland Nordenskiöld
Baron Nils Erland Herbert Nordenskiöld was a Finnish-Swedish archeologist and anthropologist. He was born in Stockholm, the son of N. A. E. Nordenskiöld...
(ethnographer of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
) and maternal uncle of Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (another polar explorer [note the different spelling of the latter's family name]).
Early life and education
Nordenskiöld was born in 1832 in HelsinkiHelsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, the capital of Finland, but he spent his early youth on the family estate in Mäntsälä
Mäntsälä
Mäntsälä is a municipality in the province of Southern Finland, and is part of the Uusimaa region. It has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....
. He went to school in Porvoo
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
, a small town on the south coast of Finland. He then entered the Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki in 1849 where he studied mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, and applied himself especially to chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
. He received his masters degree in 1853. Two years later, he published his dissertation, entitled "Om grafitens och chondroditens kristallformer" (On the crystal forms of the graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
and chondrodite
Chondrodite
Chondrodite is a nesosilicate mineral with formula 522. Although it is a fairly rare mineral, it is the most frequently encountered member of the humite group of minerals. It is formed in hydrothermal deposits from locally metamorphosed dolomite. It is also found associated with skarn and...
).
Upon his graduation, in 1853, Nordenskiöld accompanied his father to the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
and studied the iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mines at Tagilsk
Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, situated east of the virtual border between Europe and Asia. Population: -History:...
; on his return he received minor appointments both at the university and the mining office.
Political activity and exile
Docent
Docent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
in Mineralogy at the university. However, for political reasons he had to flee in the following year to Sweden, where he was called to the office of Director of the Mineralogical Department of the Swedish Museum of Natural History
Swedish Museum of Natural History
The Swedish Museum of Natural History , in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg....
and to a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
ship in Mineralogy at the Swedish Academy of Sciences. He married in 1863 Anna Maria Mannerheim, the aunt of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War, Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces during World War II, Marshal of Finland, and a Finnish statesman. He was Regent of Finland and the sixth President of Finland...
.
Having studied under Runeberg
Johan Ludvig Runeberg
Johan Ludvig Runeberg was a Finnish poet, and is the national poet of Finland. He wrote in the Swedish language....
he belonged to Liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, anti-tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist circles that agitated for Finland's liberation from Russia by the Swedes during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
; and an unguarded speech at a convivial entertainment in 1855 drew the attention of the Imperial Russian authorities to his political views, and led to a dismissal from the university.
He then visited Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, continuing his mineralogical studies, and in 1856 obtained a travelling stipend from the university in Helsinki and planned to expend it in geological research in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and Kamchatka
Kamchatka Oblast
Kamchatka Oblast was, until being incorporated into Kamchatka Krai on July 1, 2007, a federal subject of Russia . To the north, it bordered Magadan Oblast and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Koryak Autonomous Okrug was located in the northern part of the oblast...
. Upon returning he took his master's and doctor's degree in 1857 as a scholar of chemistry and geology, specializing in iron and copper-mining. He then aroused the suspicion of the authorities again, so that he was forced to leave Finland, practically as a political refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
, and was deprived of the right of ever holding office in the university of Finland.
Settling in Stockholm, and Arctic exploration
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
as his mother tongue, a natural place for him to settle was nearby Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. He soon received an offer from Otto Torell
Otto Martin Torell
Otto Martin Torell was a Swedish naturalist and geologist. He was born in Varberg, Sweden on the June 5, 1828. He was educated at Lund University for the medical profession, but became interested in zoological and geological studies, and being of independent means he devoted himself to science.He...
, the geologist, to accompany him on an expedition to Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
. To the observations of Torell on glacial
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
phenomena Nordenskiöld added the discovery at Bell Sound
Bellsund
Bellsund is a 20 km long sound on the west coast of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago.-History:Bellsund was first seen by William Barents in 1596. He simply referred to it as Inwyck . In 1610 Jonas Poole explored Bellsund, giving the fjord the name it retains to this day. He named it...
of remains of Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
plants, and on the return of the expedition he received the appointment of professor and curator of the mineralogical department of the Swedish Museum of Natural History
Swedish Museum of Natural History
The Swedish Museum of Natural History , in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg....
(Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet).
Nordenskiöld's participation in three geological expeditions to Spitsbergen, followed by longer Arctic explorations in 1867, 1870, 1872 and 1875, led him to attempt the discovery of the long-sought Northeast Passage
Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
. This he accomplished in the voyage of the Vega, navigating for the first time the northern coasts of Europe and Asia. Starting from Karlskrona
Karlskrona
Karlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 35,212 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sweden's only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the...
on 22 June 1878, the Vega doubled Cape Chelyuskin
Cape Chelyuskin
Cape Chelyuskin is the northernmost point of the Eurasian continent , and the northernmost point of mainland Russia. It is situated at the tip of the Taymyr Peninsula, south of Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia...
in the following August, and after being frozen in at the end of September near the Bering Strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
, completed the voyage successfully in the following summer. He edited a monumental record of the expedition in five volumes, and himself wrote a more popular summary in two volumes.
On his return to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
he received an enthusiastic welcome, and in April 1880 was made a baron and a commander of the Order of the North Star. In 1883, he visited the east coast of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
for the second time, and succeeded in taking his ship through the great ice barrier, a feat attempted in vain during more than three centuries. The captain on the Vega expedition, Louis Palander
Louis Palander
Adolf Arnold Louis Palander af Vega was a Swedish naval officer, mostly remembered as the captain on Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld's Vega expedition, the first successful attempt to navigate the Northeast Passage....
, was made a nobility at the same time, and took the name Palander af Vega.
In 1893, Baron Nordenskiöld was elected to the 12th chair of the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
.
The Historian of Early Cartography
As an explorer, Nordenskiöld was naturally interested in the history of Arctic exploration, especially as evidenced in old maps. This interest in turn led him to collect and systematically study early maps. He is today remembered for two substantial monographs, which both included many facsimiles, on early printed atlases and geographical mapping and medieval marine charts, respectively the Facsimile-Atlas to the Early History of Cartography (1889) and Periplus (1897).He left his huge personal collection of early maps to the University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
, and it was inscribed on UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
’s Memory of the World Register in 1997.
Honors
The Laptev SeaLaptev Sea
The Laptev Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with co-ordinates of 79°N and 139°E, and ends at the Anisiy...
had been originally named "Nordenskiöld Sea" , after this Arctic explorer. The Nordenskiöld Archipelago
Nordenskiöld Archipelago
The Nordenskiöld Archipelago or Nordenskjold Archipelago is a very large and complex cluster of islands in the eastern region of the Kara Sea. Its eastern limit lies west of the Taymyr Peninsula....
and the Nordenskiöld crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
on Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
were also named in his honor.
Expeditions
- In 1858, 1861, and 1864 he went with expeditions to SpitsbergenSpitsbergenSpitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
, and in 1868 he went in a small vessel farther north than any vessel had ever been in the Eastern hemisphereEastern HemisphereThe Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
. In 1861 he took part in Torell'sOtto Martin TorellOtto Martin Torell was a Swedish naturalist and geologist. He was born in Varberg, Sweden on the June 5, 1828. He was educated at Lund University for the medical profession, but became interested in zoological and geological studies, and being of independent means he devoted himself to science.He...
second Spitsbergen expedition and in 1864 he led the expedition promoted by the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesRoyal Swedish Academy of SciencesThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
. - In 1870, he visited GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and in 1871 went again to Spitsbergen and stayed there all winter, nearly starving to death. - In the expeditions of 1872 and 1875, he headed a well-organized expedition in the iron steamer Sofia, and reached the highest northern latitude (+81° 42 min) then attained in the eastern hemisphere.
- In 1875, he went to the Yenisei RiverYenisei RiverYenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
in SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, in a small vessel, which he sent back while he went up the river and returned home by land. The next year he went to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was a juror at the Centennial Exhibition. - In 1878 he sailed around the north coast of AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, returning home by way of the Bering StraitBering StraitThe Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
, being the first to make the whole length of the Northeast passageNorthern Sea RouteThe Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
. This he accomplished in the voyage of the Vega, navigating for the first time the northern coasts of EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Starting from KarlskronaKarlskronaKarlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 35,212 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sweden's only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the...
on 22 June 1878, the VegaVega (ship)SS Vega was a Swedish barque, built in Bremerhaven Germany in 1872. She was the first ship to complete a voyage through the Northeast Passage, and the first vessel to circumnavigate the Eurasian continent.-Construction:...
doubled Cape ChelyuskinCape ChelyuskinCape Chelyuskin is the northernmost point of the Eurasian continent , and the northernmost point of mainland Russia. It is situated at the tip of the Taymyr Peninsula, south of Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia...
in the following August, and after being frozen in at the end of September near the Bering StraitBering StraitThe Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
, completed the voyage successfully in the following summer. - In 1882-1883 - 2nd Dickson Expedition ("Den andra Dicksonska Expeditionen till Grönland"), he took the vessel "Sofia" to the Disko BayDisko BayDisko Bay is a bay on the western coast of Greenland. The bay constitutes a wide southeastern inlet of Baffin Bay.- Geography :To the south the coastline is complicated with multiple waterways of skerries and small islands in the Aasiaat archipelago...
where, together with three SaamiSaamiSaami or SAAMI can stand for:*Sami people*Sami languages*Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute...
, he made an expedition to the inland ice sheet. He expected the interiour of Greenland to be ice-free and perhaps covered in forests. Nordenskiöld quickly had to give up due to technical problems, but the SaamiSaamiSaami or SAAMI can stand for:*Sami people*Sami languages*Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute...
penetrated 230 kilometres eastward before returning. On the east coast of GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, the expedition penetrated the great ice barrier - as the first after 300 years of attempts - and landed at Ammasalik (Kung Oscars Hamn) 65° 37' N, i.e. only slightly to the north of where Wilhelm August GraahWilhelm August GraahWilhelm August Graah was a Danish naval officer and Arctic explorer. Graah had mapped areas of West Greenland when he, in 1828-30, was sent on an expedition to the uninhabited eastern coast with the purpose to search for the lost Eastern Norse Settlement...
was forced to turn his Umiak expedition round in 1830.
External links
- Biographical entry on Pegasos, the Nordic authors site
- Characters from real life who appeared in Carl Barks's and Don Rosa's stories
- A. E. Nordenskiöld and his Collections in Helsinki University Library
- Map collection at UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
site
See also
- David MelgueiroDavid MelgueiroDavid Melgueiro was a Portuguese navigator and explorer. According to some sources, he discovered the Northeast Passage in 1660, travelling between Japan and Portugal through the Arctic Ocean....
- Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was recently selected as the main motif for a high value commemorative coin, the €10 Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and Northeast Passage commemorative coin, minted in 2007. This issue celebrates the 175th anniversary of the birth of the Finnish explorer and of his discovery of the Northeast PassageNorthern Sea RouteThe Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
. The issue is a part of the European seriesEuropa Coins 2007In 2007, the common theme for the Europa coins was European Realisation. At least 11 countries have participated:*Austria - Reform of Voting Rights 1907*Belgium - Treaty of Rome*Finland - Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and the finding of the North-East Passage...
with the eurostar mintmark, which in 2007 celebrates European achievements in history. The obverse features an abstract portrait of Nordenskiöld at the helm of his ship. The reverse is dominated by a pattern resembling the labyrinth formed by adjacent ice floats.
- Nordenskjold Archipelago, an island group in the Kara SeaKara SeaThe Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
, off the SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n coast.
- Laptev SeaLaptev SeaThe Laptev Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with co-ordinates of 79°N and 139°E, and ends at the Anisiy...