Sverre Helge Hassel (30 July 1876 – 6 June 1928) 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 ...

polar explorer and one of the first five people 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 ...

Biography

Sverre Hassel was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. As soon as he was old enough, he went to sea, earning his mate's certificate. Between 1898 and 1902, Hassel participated on board the '' Fram'' in

Otto Sverdrup Otto Neumann Knoph Sverdrup (31 October 1854, in Bindal, Helgeland – 26 November 1930) was a Norwegian sailor and Arctic explorer. Early and personal life He was born in Bindal as a son of farmer Ulrik Frederik Suhm Sverdrup (1833–1914) ...

's attempt to

circumnavigate Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

Along with

Helmer Hanssen Helmer Julius Hanssen (24 September 1870 – 2 August 1956) was a Norwegian sailor, pilot and polar explorer. He participated in three of the polar expeditions led by Roald Amundsen and was one of the first five explorers to reach the South Pole ...

, Hassel was picked as an expert dog driver to take part in

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 ...

's South Pole expedition 1910–1912. On 14 December 1911, Hassel together with Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen,

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 ...

and

Oscar Wisting Oscar Adolf Wisting (6 June 1871 – 5 December 1936) was a Norwegian Naval officer and polar explorer. Together with Roald Amundsen he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. Biography Oscar Wisting was born in ...

were the first to reach the

. For his participation in the expedition, he was awarded the

South Pole Medal The South Pole Medal ( no, Sydpolsmedaljen) or Medal Commemorating the 1910–1911 ''Fram'' Expedition to the South Pole (''Medalje til erindring om "Frams" ekspedisjon til Sydpolen 1910–1911'') is a Norwegian medal established by Haakon VII of ...

(''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. Hassel was constable of the Maritime Military Corps in 1904 before he was hired as an assistant at the customs authorities in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

. In 1922, Hassel became customs inspector and office manager in

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (tow ...

. Sverre Hassel died in 1928 during a visit to Amundsen's home in Svartskog.

Legacy

Mount Hassel Mount Hassel () is a rock peak high, the northeasternmost summit of the massif at the head of Amundsen Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica. In November 1911, a number of mountain peaks in this general vicinity were observed and r ...

: peak at the northeasternmost summit of the massif at the head of

Amundsen Glacier Amundsen Glacier () is a major Antarctic glacier, about 7 to 11 km (4 to 6 nmi) wide and 150 km (80 nmi) long, originating on the polar plateau where it drains the area to the south and west of Nilsen Plateau, and descendin ...

, in the

Queen Maud Mountains The 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 Antarcti ...

in Antarctica. *

Hassel Sound Hassel Sound is an uninhabited natural waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It separates Ellef Ringnes Island Ellef Ringnes Island is one of the Sverdrup Islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. A member of the ...

: strait between Amund Ringnes Island and

Ellef Ringnes Island Ellef Ringnes Island is one of the Sverdrup Islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. A member of the Queen Elizabeth Islands and Arctic Archipelago, it is located in the Arctic Ocean, east of Borden Island, and west of Amund Ringne ...

in northern Canada *

Cape Sverre Cape Sverre is a peninsula in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Named in honor of Sverre Hassel of the 1900 Otto Sverdrup Otto Neumann Knoph Sverdrup (31 October 1854, in Bindal, Helgeland – 26 November 1930) was a Norwegian sailor ...

: northernmost point on Amund Ringnes Island, which he circumnavigated in 1900

Sources

Roald Amundsen wrote about the expedition in ''Sydpolen'' published in two volumes in 1912–1913. The work was translated from the Norwegian into English by A. G. Chater, and published as ''The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram," 1910–1912''

References

Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassel, Sverre 1876 births 1928 deaths Explorers from Oslo Explorers of Antarctica Norwegian polar explorers Amundsen's South Pole expedition