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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 was born on the Søndre Bjaaland farm at Morgedal in Telemark, Norway. At the turn of the century, Bjaaland, together with the Hemmestveit brothers were among the best skiers in Norway. In 1902, he won the nordic combined at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, to this day the classic event in nordic skiing. In 1909 Bjaaland, together with five others were invited to France to compete with the best skiers of Europe. On this trip, Bjaaland by chance met Roald Amundsen. The already successful explorer invited Bjaaland to join his forthcoming expedition to the North Pole. Bjaaland was thrilled, and still believing that they were heading to the North Pole. However, they left Oslo, Norway on 7 June 1910 heading south to race for the Antarctic pole ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morgedal
Morgedal is a village in Kviteseid Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located in the mountains along the European route E134 highway, about to the northwest of the village of Brunkeberg (Telemark), Brunkeberg and about to the northwest of the Kviteseid (village), village of Kviteseid. Skiing The village is notable because it is considered to be the birthplace of the sport of downhill skiing. Morgedal was home to Sondre Norheim who is often called the father of modern skiing. It was also home to Torjus Hemmestveit and Mikkjel Hemmestveit, two brothers who created the world's first skiing school in Oslo, Christiania, Norway in 1881 before emigrating to the United States in the late 19th century. Olav Bjaaland, another skier from Morgedal, journeyed to the South Pole as a member of Amundsen's South Pole expedition. Bjaaland skied at the front of the expedition party so that the sled dogs had something to run after. The Olympic Flames for the 1952 Winter Olymp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telemark
Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. On 1 January 2024, the county of Telemark was re-established after Vestfold og Telemark was divided again. The name ''Telemark'' means the "March (territorial entity), mark of the Thelir", the ancient North Germanic peoples, North Germanic tribe that inhabited what is now known as Upper Telemark in the Migration Period and the Viking Age. In the Middle Ages, the agricultural society of Upper Telemark was considered the most violent region of Norway. Today, half of the buildings from medieval times in Norway are located here. The dialects spoken in Upper Telemark also retain more elements of Old Norse than those spoken elsewhere in the country. Upper Telemark is also known as the birthplace of skiing. The southern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year (IGY; ), also referred to as the third International Polar Year, was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West had been seriously interrupted. Sixty-seven countries participated in IGY projects, although one notable exception was the mainland China, People's Republic of China, which was protesting against the participation of the Republic of China (Taiwan). East and West agreed to nominate the Belgian Marcel Nicolet as secretary general of the associated international organization. The IGY encompassed fourteen Earth science disciplines: Auroral light, aurora, airglow, cosmic rays, Earth's magnetic field, geomagnetism, gravity, ionosphere, ionospheric physics, longitude and latitude determinations (precision mapping), meteorology, oceanography, Ionizing radiation, nuclear radiation, glaciology, seismo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1961 Deaths
Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (Koivulahti air disaster): Douglas DC-3C OH-LCC of Finnish airline Finnair, Aero crashes near Kvevlax (Koivulahti), on approach to Vaasa Airport in Finland, killing all 25 on board, due to pilot error: an investigation finds that the Captain (civil aviation), captain and First officer (civil aviation), first officer were both exhausted for lack of sleep, and had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol at the time of the crash. It remains the deadliest air disaster to occur in the country. * January 5 ** Italian sculptor Alfredo Fioravanti enters the U.S. Consulate in Rome, and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the Etruscan terra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1873 Births
Events January * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the United States Army. February * February 11 – The Spanish Cortes deposes King Amadeus I, and proclaims the First Spanish Republic. * February 12 ** Emilio Castelar, the former foreign minister, becomes prime minister of the new Spanish Republic. ** The Coinage Act of 1873 in the United States is signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. Coming into effect on April 1, it ends bimetallism in the U.S., and places the country on the gold standard. * February 20 ** The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco. ** British naval officer John Moresby discovers the site of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, and claims the land for Britain. March * March 3 – Censorship: The United States Congress e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Bjaaland
The Amundsen Glacier () is a major Antarctic glacier, about 7 to 11 km (4 to 6 nmi) wide and 150 km (80 nmi) long. It originates on the Antarctic Plateau where it drains the area to the south and west of Nilsen Plateau, then descends through the Queen Maud Mountains to enter the Ross Ice Shelf just west of the MacDonald Nunataks. Name The Amundsen Glacier was discovered by Richard E. Byrd on the South Pole flight in November 1929. The name was proposed for Roald Amundsen by Laurence Gould, leader of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition (Byrd AE) geological party which sledged past the mouth of the glacier in December 1929. Location According to ''Sailing Directions for Antarctica'' (1960), "Lying eastward of the Bowman Glacier is the Amundsen Glacier, the northern portal of which is in 85°30' S., 159°00' W. It is about 6 miles wide and trends southward about 60 miles to the polar plateau. Mount Helmer Hanssen, about 10,742 feet high, is a rounded dome, completel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amundsen (film)
''Amundsen '' is a Norwegian film, released on 15 February 2019, that details the life of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. It was directed by Espen Sandberg and was distributed in Norway by SF Studios. Plot Flying in an Arctic storm, elderly Roald Amundsen's plane crashes, stranding him and his companions. Waiting for news while the world assumes he has died, his brother Leon recounts the explorer's life story to Roald's Alaskan lover Bess Magids. As boys, Roald and Leon are enchanted by the unknown poles on a globe. As young men, they pioneer a route through the Northwest Passage. Despite his accomplishments, other explorers still look down upon Roald for showing respect to Inuit. Robert Falcon Scott briefly congratulates him, but would rather talk with politicians. The Amundsens decide to join the race to the North Pole, securing funding by promising to prioritise science over speed. News arrives that Frederick Cook has reached the Pole, an unproven claim that nonetheless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Last Place On Earth
''The Last Place on Earth'' is a 1985 Central Television seven-part serial, written by Trevor Griffiths based on the book ''Scott and Amundsen'' by Roland Huntford. The book is an exploration of the expeditions of Captain Robert F. Scott (played by Martin Shaw) and his Norwegian rival in polar exploration, Roald Amundsen (played by Sverre Anker Ousdal) in their attempts to reach the South Pole. The series ran for seven episodes and starred a wide range of UK and Norwegian character actors as well as featuring some famous names, such as Max von Sydow, Alexander Knox, Richard Wilson, Sylvester McCoy, Brian Dennehy, and Pat Roach. It also featured performances early in their careers by Bill Nighy and Hugh Grant. Subsequently, Huntford's book was republished under the same name.The Last Place on Earth, by Roland Huntford, 1999, Modern Library Exploration, The book put forth the point of view that Amundsen's success in reaching the South Pole was abetted by much superior pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 in an area with several other museums including the Kon-Tiki Museum, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, the Viking Ship Museum and the Norwegian Maritime Museum. Bygdøy Royal Estate, the official summer residence of the King of Norway, and historic Oscarshall are also located nearby. The Fram Museum was inaugurated on 20 May 1936. It honours Norwegian polar exploration in general and three great Norwegian polar explorers in particular – Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. The museum also exhibits images of the fauna of the polar regions, such as polar bears and penguins. The Fram Museum is centred principally on the original exploration vessel '' Fram''. The original interior of ''Fram'' is intact and visitors can go inside the ship to view it. '' Fram'' was commissioned, designed, and buil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Håkon Anton Fagarås
Haakon, also spelled Håkon (in Norway), Hakon (in Denmark), Håkan (in Sweden),Oxford Dictionary of First Names Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges - 2006 "Håkon Norwegian: from the Old Norse personal name Hákon or Háukon, from hā 'horse' or 'high' + konr 'son, descendant'; borne by Haakon VII of Norway (1872–1957), and by Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (b. 1973). SWEDISH: Håkan. DANISH: Hakon, Hagen. Halfdan From an Old Norse personal name, originally a byname for ..." or Háukon or Hákon, is an older spelling of the modern Norwegian form of the Old Norwegian masculine first name ''Hákon'' meaning "High Son" from ''há'' (high, chosen) and ''konr'' (son, descendant, kin). An old English form is Hacon as in Haconby, ''Hacon's Village''. The name appears in Scottish Gaelic as Àcainn, as seen in the place-name Kyleakin, meaning 'Haakon's Narrows', being named after King Haakon IV of Norway. Haakon or Håkon was the name of several Norwegian rulers (see Norwegian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1952 Winter Olympics
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city was keen to host the 1948 Winter Olympics, but that was made impossible by World War II. Instead, Oslo won the right to host the 1952 Games in a contest that included Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy and Lake Placid, New York, Lake Placid in the United States. All of the Olympic venues were in Oslo's metropolitan area, except for the Alpine skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics, alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell, from the capital. A new hotel was built for the press and dignitaries, along with three dormitories to house athletes and coaches, creating the first modern Olympic Village, athlete's village. Oslo bore the financial burden of hosting the Games in return for the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
