Georg Carl Amdrup
Encyclopedia
Vice Admiral Sir Georg Carl Amdrup (Copenhagen
, Denmark, November 19, 1866 - Copenhagen, January 15, 1947), RN
was a Danish naval officer, Vice Admiral
and Greenland
researcher.
. After wintering, he explored to the north, including an examination of the Ikerasak Fjord
. He mapped a large length of coastline while collecting many geological and ethnological finds. By July 1885, he reached Agga Island (67° 22' North), the furthest north of this survey.
Fund Expedition to East Greenland (Carlsbergfondet Expedition til Ost-Gronland). With him were botanist Christian Krause, ornithologist Knud Poulsen, and the sailors, A. Jakobsen and Soren P. Nielsen. They left Copenhagen on August 16, 1898, sailing from Copenhagen in the vessel Godthaab, and reaching Ammassalik ("Angmagssalik") on 31 August. The purpose of the expedition was to identify and examine the then completely unexplored stretch of coast between the 66th parallel north
and Scoresbysund
at about 70th parallel north
. The following year, they traveled the coast north to 67° 22' North, establishing several depots to use for future travel north.
During this expedition, Amdrup found the remains of a small, extinct Eskimo
settlement. From this find, he brought to Denmark in 1899 a significant ethnographic collection.
sold the Antarctic
to Amdrup. On June 15, 1900, Amdrup took an 11-man expedition to East Greenland. The survey was to explore the coast between Cape Brewster and Agga Island. They arrived at Little Pendulum Island
, before continuing to Kap Dalton (69°25 N) in mid July where they divided into two parties.. While the expedition's second in command, Nikolaj Hartz
, stayed with the Antarctic and examined the country up to Scoresbysund and fjords to the north, Amdrup endured great hardship and dangers further south in a small boat Aggas that navigated through the ice belt in the polar stream and mapped an uncharted route.
During the 730 kilometres (453.6 mi) part of the expedition in Aggas, a 5.6 metres (18.4 ft) long, 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) wide open boat that carried Amdrup, three others including Ejnar Mikkelsen
, plus 1659 kilograms (3,657.5 lb) of supplies, Amdrup found a dwelling containing the remains of 38 bodies, from which he inferred that Inuit had been trying to colonize the area. Amdrup and his men were even accused of killing the 38 people, but it was later ascertained that they had starved to death. Having established the fact that there were no other Eskimos on the eastern side of the island other than are known to the Danish missionaries, Amdrup's skeleton find was unusual.
Amdrup and his men were picked up by the ship Antarctic at Ammassalik in September and he returned to Denmark on October 4, with significant collections of botanical, geological, and zoological, specimens. Part of the natural history collection that Amdrup brought back included a live musk ox and ten lemming
. He published the expedition results in the "Notice of Grønland", XXVII-XXIX. Swedish and English expeditions that were ongoing at the time did not report the considerable progress that the Danish expedition under Amdrup was able to show.
to his friend, Prince Valdemar of Denmark
. He was a member of the Committee for the Danish expedition to Greenland's northeast coast 1906-1908, and, as the expedition historian, Amdrup wrote the expedition history in the "Notice of Grønland", XLI.
. He was a member of the editorial board of "Grønland in tohundredåret for Hans Egede's Land". Amdrup was promoted to the rank of commander in 1916. In 1925, he was promoted to rear admiral in 1925, and was the Commander of the Niels Iuel. From 1927, he was Vice Admiral Sir Georg Amdrup.
held in the Copenhagen Concert Hall
, Amdrup was honored with a Medal of Merit in gold. He also received other medals from several foreign geographical societies, including the Royal Geographical Society
in 1902, and the Royal Geographical Society's Back grant. In 1913, Mikkelsen dedicated his book, Being the story of the 'Alabama' expedition, 1909-1912 to Amdrup.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark, November 19, 1866 - Copenhagen, January 15, 1947), RN
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters...
was a Danish naval officer, Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
and 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...
researcher.
Career
In 1884, Amdrup, of the Royal Danish Navy, was sent to AmmassalikTasiilaq
Tasiilaq is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,930 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Greenland...
. After wintering, he explored to the north, including an examination of the Ikerasak Fjord
Ikerasak Fjord
Ikerasak Fjord is a fjord in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland.- Geography :The fjord constitutes the innermost part of the Uummannaq Fjord at the base of Nuussuaq Peninsula...
. He mapped a large length of coastline while collecting many geological and ethnological finds. By July 1885, he reached Agga Island (67° 22' North), the furthest north of this survey.
Carlsbergfondet Expedition til Ost-Gronland
Lieutenant Amdrup was the leader of a major Danish expedition in 1898-1900, the CarlsbergCarlsberg Foundation
Carlsberg Foundation was founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1876 and owns 30,3% of the shares in Carlsberg Group and has 74,2% of the voting power.The purpose of the foundation is to run and fund Carlsberg Laboratory, the museum at Frederiksborg Palace, to fund scientific research, run the Ny Carlsberg...
Fund Expedition to East Greenland (Carlsbergfondet Expedition til Ost-Gronland). With him were botanist Christian Krause, ornithologist Knud Poulsen, and the sailors, A. Jakobsen and Soren P. Nielsen. They left Copenhagen on August 16, 1898, sailing from Copenhagen in the vessel Godthaab, and reaching Ammassalik ("Angmagssalik") on 31 August. The purpose of the expedition was to identify and examine the then completely unexplored stretch of coast between the 66th parallel north
66th parallel north
The 66th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 66 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, about 61km south of the Arctic Circle. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia and North America....
and Scoresbysund
Ittoqqortoormiit
Ittoqqortoormiit is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in eastern Greenland. Its population is 469 as of 2010.The Danish name Scoresbysund derives from the name of the Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby, who was the first to map the area in 1822. The Greenlandic name...
at about 70th parallel north
70th parallel north
The 70th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 70 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia and North America, and passes through some of the southern seas of the Arctic Ocean....
. The following year, they traveled the coast north to 67° 22' North, establishing several depots to use for future travel north.
During this expedition, Amdrup found the remains of a small, extinct Eskimo
Kalaallit
Kalaallit is the contemporary term in the Kalaallisut language for the indigenous people living in Greenland, also called the Kalaallit Nunaat. The singular term is kalaaleq. The Kalaallit are a part of the Arctic Inuit people. The language spoken by Inuit in Greenland is Kalaallisut.Historically,...
settlement. From this find, he brought to Denmark in 1899 a significant ethnographic collection.
The East-Greenland Coast Expedition, 1900
In 1899, Alfred Gabriel NathorstAlfred Gabriel Nathorst
Alfred Gabriel Nathorst was a Swedish Arctic explorer, geologist and palaeobotanist. Nathorst was born in Väderbrunn outside Nyköping and died in Stockholm.-Biography:He was born on November 7, 1850....
sold the Antarctic
Antarctic (ship)
The Antarctic was a Swedish steamship built in Drammen, Norway in 1871. She was used on several research expeditions to the Arctic region and to Antarctica through 1898-1903. In 1895 the first confirmed landing on the mainland of Antarctica was made from this ship.-The ship:Antarctic was a barque...
to Amdrup. On June 15, 1900, Amdrup took an 11-man expedition to East Greenland. The survey was to explore the coast between Cape Brewster and Agga Island. They arrived at Little Pendulum Island
Little Pendulum Island
Little Pendulum Island is an island to the north east of Wollaston Foreland, Greenland. Together with Sabine Island , it constitutes the Pendulum Islands, named by Douglas Charles Clavering’s 1823 expedition, during which the Irish scientist Edward Sabine swung the pendulum on the largest of the...
, before continuing to Kap Dalton (69°25 N) in mid July where they divided into two parties.. While the expedition's second in command, Nikolaj Hartz
Nikolaj Hartz
Nikolaj Eeg Kruse Hartz was a Danish geologist and botanist. He investigated plant and animal remains in deposits from before, during and after the last glaciation...
, stayed with the Antarctic and examined the country up to Scoresbysund and fjords to the north, Amdrup endured great hardship and dangers further south in a small boat Aggas that navigated through the ice belt in the polar stream and mapped an uncharted route.
During the 730 kilometres (453.6 mi) part of the expedition in Aggas, a 5.6 metres (18.4 ft) long, 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) wide open boat that carried Amdrup, three others including Ejnar Mikkelsen
Ejnar Mikkelsen
Ejnar Mikkelsen , was a Danish polar explorer and author, born in Jutland. He served in the Georg Carl Amdrup expedition to Christian IX Land, East Greenland , and in the Baldwin-Ziegler expedition to Franz Joseph Land .With Ernest de Koven Leffingwell he organized the Anglo-American polar...
, plus 1659 kilograms (3,657.5 lb) of supplies, Amdrup found a dwelling containing the remains of 38 bodies, from which he inferred that Inuit had been trying to colonize the area. Amdrup and his men were even accused of killing the 38 people, but it was later ascertained that they had starved to death. Having established the fact that there were no other Eskimos on the eastern side of the island other than are known to the Danish missionaries, Amdrup's skeleton find was unusual.
Amdrup and his men were picked up by the ship Antarctic at Ammassalik in September and he returned to Denmark on October 4, with significant collections of botanical, geological, and zoological, specimens. Part of the natural history collection that Amdrup brought back included a live musk ox and ten lemming
Lemming
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
. He published the expedition results in the "Notice of Grønland", XXVII-XXIX. Swedish and English expeditions that were ongoing at the time did not report the considerable progress that the Danish expedition under Amdrup was able to show.
Danmark Expedition to Greenland's Northeast Coast, 1906-1908
From 1905, Amdrup worked as an AdjutantAdjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
to his friend, Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Prince Valdemar of Denmark, GCTE was a member of the Danish Royal Family, the youngest son of Christian IX of Denmark and his wife Luise of Hesse-Kassel...
. He was a member of the Committee for the Danish expedition to Greenland's northeast coast 1906-1908, and, as the expedition historian, Amdrup wrote the expedition history in the "Notice of Grønland", XLI.
Later years
In 1913, he was appointed to the Greenland Commission, (1931: Commission for scientific studies in Greenland) of which he was chairman from 1930 until 1931. In 1937, he took over the publication of Meddelelser om GrønlandMeddelelser om Grønland
Meddelelser om Grønland was a Danish scientific periodical issued by the Commission for Scientific Investigations in Greenland. Founded by Frederik Johnstrup, it was published from 1879 to 1979...
. He was a member of the editorial board of "Grønland in tohundredåret for Hans Egede's Land". Amdrup was promoted to the rank of commander in 1916. In 1925, he was promoted to rear admiral in 1925, and was the Commander of the Niels Iuel. From 1927, he was Vice Admiral Sir Georg Amdrup.
Awards and honors
At the winter 1900-01 meeting of the Royal Danish Geographical SocietyRoyal Danish Geographical Society
Royal Danish Geographical Society is a scientific society aimed at furthering the knowledge of the Earth and its inhabitants and to disseminate the interest in the science of geography....
held in the Copenhagen Concert Hall
Copenhagen Concert Hall
The Copenhagen Concert Hall by Jean Nouvel is a part of the new DR Byen , that houses the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR. The concert hall and the DR Town are located in the northern part of Ørestad - an ambitious development area in Copenhagen, Denmark...
, Amdrup was honored with a Medal of Merit in gold. He also received other medals from several foreign geographical societies, including the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
in 1902, and the Royal Geographical Society's Back grant. In 1913, Mikkelsen dedicated his book, Being the story of the 'Alabama' expedition, 1909-1912 to Amdrup.
Legacy
Landforms named in his honor include Amdrup Land 80.916°N 16.583°W in northeastern Greenland, and Amdrup Fjord 68.216°N 32.333°W. The Shipbuilding & Engineering Company's ship G.C. Amdrup is also named for him. Also named on his behalf is Leptognathia amdrupii, which was considered for transfer to the genus Chauliopleona by 2000 and transferred to Chauliopleona amdrupii by 2005.Partial works
- (1902). The East-Greenland Coast Expedition in the year 1900. Kjobenhavn, Geogr. Tids. 16, (34-54, with 1 map). (in Danish)
- (1904) Observations astronomiques, météorologiques et magnétiques de Tasiusak dans le district d'Angmagsalik, 1898 Faites par l'expédition danoise sous la direction de G. C. Amdrup: Publ. par la Commission danoise des Explorations géographique et géologiques du Groenland
- (1904) Fungi Groenlandiæ orientalis in expeditionibus G. Amdrup 1898-1902
- (1921). Grønland i Tohundredaaret for Hans Egedes Landing. Under Redaktion of G. C. Amdrup, Louis Bobé, Ad. S. Jensen, H. P. Steensby. [With plates.]. København, 1921. (in Danish)
- (1928). Greenland. Copenhagen: C.A. Reitzel.
External links
- Obituary at Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...