Helmer Julius Hanssen (24 September 1870 – 2 August 1956) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

sailor, pilot and polar explorer. He participated in three of the polar expeditions led by

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen beg ...

and was one of the first five explorers to reach the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

Background

Helmer Hanssen was born in

Bjørnskinn Bjørnskinn is a village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village of Bjørnskinn lies along the southern part of the island of Andøya, about northwest of the larger village of Risøyhamn. The village is the site of Bjø ...

, on the island of

Andøya Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

in Nordland, Norway. He was an experienced ice pilot, a skill he had learned while hunting around Spitsbergen. Between 1894 and 1897, he hunted small whales and seals in the Arctic Sea. He later sailed for the Norwegian shipping company, Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab.

Career

From 1903 to 1905 Helmer Hanssen participated in

's successful search for the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

, as second mate on board the ship ''

Gjøa ''Gjøa'' was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six, Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in a three-year journey, finishing in 1906. History Construction The square-sterned sloop of 47 net register tonna ...

''. On the expedition he learned from the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

how to drive

sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transportation in Arctic areas ...

s. In 1910 he headed south with Amundsen to conquer the

, this time as an expert dog driver. He was also in charge of

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

, carrying the master

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself wit ...

on his sledge. Sydpolmedaljen

He was one of the first five people to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911, along with Roald Amundsen,

Olav Bjaaland Olav Bjaaland (5 March 1873 – 8 June 1961) was a Norwegian ski champion and polar explorer. In 1911, he was one of the first five men to reach the South Pole as part of Amundsen's South Pole expedition. Biography Olav Olavsen Bjaaland ...

, Oscar Wisting, and Sverre Hassel. During their stay at the South Pole, it is estimated that Hanssen passed within 200 yards (180 meters) of the mathematical South Pole point. This was during one of his ski runs which Amundsen had ordered be performed to completely encircle or "box" the pole, to ensure that there was no doubt that the expedition had attained the pole. For his participation in the expedition, he was awarded the South Pole Medal (''Sydpolsmedaljen''), the Royal Norwegian award instituted by King

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick ...

in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition. In 1919 he once again went north, this time as captain on ''Maud'' in Roald Amundsen's Northeast Passage expedition. Helmer Hanssen was awarded the Knight of St. Olav for exceptional seamanship on Roald Amundsen's expeditions in the northern and southern parts of the world. In 1936 Hanssen published his autobiography ''The Voyages of a Modern Viking'', (London: G. Routledge & Sons Limited, 1936). A statue of Helmer Hanssen together with the rest of Roald Amundsen's Antarctic explorer team is located at the

Fram Museum The Fram Museum ( no, Frammuseet) is a museum telling the story of Norwegian polar exploration. It is located on the peninsula of Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. Fram Museum is in an area with several other museums including the Kon-Tiki Museum, th ...

Bygdøy Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy belongs to the borough of Frogner; historically Bygdøy was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popul ...

in Oslo, Norway. A scientific research vessel, the FF Helmer Hanssen, has also been named in his honour.

References

Other sources

*Michalsen, Bård Borch (2011) ''Polarhelten Helmer Hanssen : den trofaste toer'' (God strek)

External links

Research Vessel R/V Helmer Hanssen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanssen, Helmer 1870 births 1956 deaths People from Andøy Norwegian aviators Norwegian sailors Norwegian hunters Norwegian polar explorers Explorers of Antarctica Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Amundsen's South Pole expedition Sportspeople from Nordland