Oscar Wisting
Encyclopedia
Oscar Adolf Wisting was a Norwegian
polar explorer. Together with Roald Amundsen
he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles.
, in Vestfold
county, Norway. At the age of sixteen, he went to sea and in 1892 joined the Royal Norwegian Navy
. He was working as a naval gunner at Karljohansvern
, the naval base in Horten
during 1909 when Roald Amundsen asked him to go north with him on his forthcoming North Pole expedition. Amundsen later secretly changed his plans. Wisting went to sea believing they were heading for the North Pole
. Instead he learned that they were going south to pick up the race with Robert Falcon Scott
to the South Pole
.
On December 14, 1911 along with Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen
, Olav Bjaaland
and Sverre Hassel
, Wisting planted the Norwegian flag on the Geographic South Pole, the first explorers to have reached that point.
From 1918 to 1925 Wisting was chief officer onboard the Maud
in Roald Amundsen's attempt to traverse the Northeast passage. From 1923 to 1925 Wisting more or less acted as leader of the expedition after Amundsen left to try to fly to the pole instead.
In 1926 Wisting participated in Amundsen's successful attempt to fly over the North Pole. In the airship Norge they reached the pole on May 12, 1926. The three previous claims to have arrived at the North Pole—by Frederick Cook
in 1908, Robert Peary
in 1909, and Richard E. Byrd in 1926 (just a few days before the Norge)—are all disputed, as being either of dubious accuracy or outright fraud. Some of those disputing these earlier claims therefore consider the crew of the Norge to be the first verified explorers to have reached the North Pole. In addition Wisting, along with Amundsen, was one of the two first persons who had been to both the North Pole and the South Pole.
In later years Oscar Wisting was an active force behind the preparations and building of the Fram Museum
in Oslo
, a museum built to store and display the polar ship Fram
. On December 5, 1936 Wisting was found dead from heart attack in his old bunk on board the Fram, a few days before the 25th anniversary of the successful South Pole expedition.
For his participation in the expedition, he was awarded the Medal of the South Pole (Sydpolsmedaljen), the Royal Norwegian award instituted by King Haakon VII
in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
polar explorer. Together with Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles.
Biography
Oscar Wisting was born in LarvikLarvik
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Larvik kommune - has about 41 364 inhabitants and covers 530 km2....
, in Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
county, Norway. At the age of sixteen, he went to sea and in 1892 joined the Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
. He was working as a naval gunner at Karljohansvern
Karljohansvern
Karjohansvern in Horten was the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1819 to 1963.It was first called Hortens verft, and later Marinens Hovedværft until King Oscar I named it Carljohansværn værft in 1854...
, the naval base in Horten
Horten
is a town and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the villages of Borre, Åsgårdstrand, Skoppum, and Nykirke....
during 1909 when Roald Amundsen asked him to go north with him on his forthcoming North Pole expedition. Amundsen later secretly changed his plans. Wisting went to sea believing they were heading for the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. Instead he learned that they were going south to pick up the race with Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
to the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
.
On December 14, 1911 along with Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen
Helmer Hanssen
Helmer Julius Hanssen was a Norwegian polar explorer, and one of the first five to reach the South Pole on the expedition of Roald Amundsen.- His life :Helmer Hanssen was born in Bjørnskinn, on the island of Andøya in the northern part of Norway...
, Olav Bjaaland
Olav Bjaaland
Olav Bjaaland was a Norwegian ski champion from Telemark. In 1911, he was one of the first five men to reach the South Pole as part of an expedition led by Roald Amundsen.- His life :...
and Sverre Hassel
Sverre Hassel
Sverre Helge Hassel was a Norwegian polar explorer and one of the first five people to reach the South Pole.- Biography :...
, Wisting planted the Norwegian flag on the Geographic South Pole, the first explorers to have reached that point.
From 1918 to 1925 Wisting was chief officer onboard the Maud
Maud (ship)
The Maud, named for Queen Maud of Norway, was a ship built for Roald Amundsen for his second expedition to the Arctic. Designed for his intended voyage through the Northeast Passage, the vessel was specially built at a shipyard in Asker, Norway on the Oslofjord.The Maud was launched in June 1916...
in Roald Amundsen's attempt to traverse the Northeast passage. From 1923 to 1925 Wisting more or less acted as leader of the expedition after Amundsen left to try to fly to the pole instead.
In 1926 Wisting participated in Amundsen's successful attempt to fly over the North Pole. In the airship Norge they reached the pole on May 12, 1926. The three previous claims to have arrived at the North Pole—by Frederick Cook
Frederick Cook
Frederick Albert Cook was an American explorer and physician, noted for his claim of having reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. This would have been a year before April 6, 1909, the date claimed by Robert Peary....
in 1908, Robert Peary
Robert Peary
Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. was an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole...
in 1909, and Richard E. Byrd in 1926 (just a few days before the Norge)—are all disputed, as being either of dubious accuracy or outright fraud. Some of those disputing these earlier claims therefore consider the crew of the Norge to be the first verified explorers to have reached the North Pole. In addition Wisting, along with Amundsen, was one of the two first persons who had been to both the North Pole and the South Pole.
In later years Oscar Wisting was an active force behind the preparations and building of the Fram Museum
Fram Museum
The Fram Museum is a museum telling the story of Norwegian polar exploration. It is located on the peninsula of Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway.Fram Museum is situated in an area with several other museums, including the Kon-Tiki Museum; the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History; the Viking Ship Museum;...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, a museum built to store and display the polar ship Fram
Fram
Fram is a ship that was used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912...
. On December 5, 1936 Wisting was found dead from heart attack in his old bunk on board the Fram, a few days before the 25th anniversary of the successful South Pole expedition.
For his participation in the expedition, he was awarded the Medal of the South Pole (Sydpolsmedaljen), the Royal Norwegian award instituted by King Haakon VII
Haakon VII
Haakon VII may refer to:People* Haakon VII of Norway , King of Norway Ships* HNoMS King Haakon VII, a Royal Norwegian Navy escort ship in commission from 1942 to 1951...
in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition.
Sources
Oscar Wisting wrote about his experiences with Roald Amundsen in 19 Ar Med Roald Amundsen (Oslo: Glydendal Norsk Forlag.1930). Roald Amundsen wrote about the expedition in Sydpolen published in two volumes in 1912–1913. The work was translated into English by A. G. Chater, and published as The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram" 1910–1912.Legacy
- Mount WistingMount WistingMount Wisting is a rock peak , the northwesternmost summit of the massif at the head of Amundsen Glacier in the Queen Maud Mountains. In November 1911, a number of mountain peaks in this general vicinity were observed and rudely positioned by the South Pole Party under Roald Amundsen. Amundsen...
– the northwesternmost summit of the massif at the head of Amundsen GlacierAmundsen GlacierAmundsen Glacier is a major Antarctic glacier, about 6 to 10 km wide and 128 km long, originating on the polar plateau where it drains the area to the south and west of Nilsen Plateau, and descending through the Queen Maud Mountains to enter the Ross Ice Shelf just west of the...
in the Queen Maud MountainsQueen Maud MountainsThe Queen Maud Mountains are a major group of mountains, ranges and subordinate features of the Transantarctic Mountains, lying between the Beardmore and Reedy Glaciers and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Shelf to the polar plateau in Antarctica...
.
Other sources
- Hansen, Jan Ingar (2001) Oscar Wisting: Amundsens betrodde mann (Schibsted Forlag) ISBN 978-8251618670