''Antarctic'' was a Swedish

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

built in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, in 1871. She was used on several research expeditions to the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

region and to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

from 1893 to 1903. In 1895 the first confirmed landing on the mainland of Antarctica was made from this ship.

The ship

''Antarctic'' was a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

with three masts and equipped with a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

, built in 1871 at Holmen in

in Norway under the name ''Cap Nor''.
Alfred Nathorst, ”Två Somrar i Norra Ishafvet”, first part (in Swedish), 1900, accessdate=2010-12-10
Henrik Bull, ”The cruise of the "Antarctic" to the South Polar regions”, 1896, accessdate=2010-12-10, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University (in Swedish), accessdate=2010-12-10 Initially ''Antarctic'' was used for

seal hunting Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of Pinniped, seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in nine countries: Canada, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Russia, the United States (above the Arctic Circle ...

around

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norway, Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: la ...

and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

.
Nordisk Familjebok, Project Runeberg, Linköping University (in Swedish), accessdate=2010-12-10 During that period the ship was captained by Gullik Jensen. In the early 1890s Norwegian ship-owner Svend Foyn wanted to expand his business to the Antarctic Ocean thereby needing capable ships. Foyn then purchased ''Cap Nor'', made extensive repairs and after completion renamed the ship ''Antarctic''. From 1893 the ship was deployed to the

Antarctic Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

for

whale hunting Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

. In 1897 the ship was purchased by

Alfred Gabriel Nathorst Alfred Gabriel Nathorst (7 November 1850 – 20 January 1921) was a Swedish Arctic explorer, geologist, and palaeobotanist. He travelled to Spitzbergen, Svalbard and Greenland where he took an interest in the Arctic floras from the Paleozoic ...

for his planned expedition to Svalbard. Again extensive repairs were made prior to the expedition in 1898. In 1899 Nathorst sold the ship to Georg Carl Amdrup for his expedition to

East Greenland Tunu, in Danish Østgrønland ("East Greenland"), was one of the three counties (''amter'') of Greenland until 31 December 2008. The county seat was at the main settlement, Tasiilaq. The county's population in 2005 was around 3,800. The county ...

. In 1900 Amdrup sold ''Antarctic'' to

Otto Nordenskjöld Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer. Early life Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a family that included his maternal unc ...

who needed the ship for his Antarctic expedition.

The expeditions

In 1893 ''Antarctic'' captained by Leonard Kristensen set off on a whaling expedition to Antarctica led by Henrik Johan Bull and financed by Foyn. The ship was equipped with 11 harpoon guns, an arsenal of explosives, 8 whaleboats and 31 men and left

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

on September 20, 1893. The first summer was spent around the

Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...

with winter camp in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. On September 28, 1894, the ship went off to sea heading for the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...

. On January 24, 1895, a boat was put ashore at Cape Adare at the northern extremity of

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78th parallel south, 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Ant ...

with six men including Bull, Borchgrevink, Kristensen and Tunzelmann. The party performed the first confirmed landing on the continent of Antarctica, exactly who went ashore first was never cleared as all members claimed the honor (possibly British-American sealer John Davis had already made a landing on the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

on February 7, 1821, this claim can, however, not be confirmed).
Norska Nasjonalbiblioteket-National Library of Norway (in Norwegian), accessdate=2010-12-10
Norsk biografisk leksikon-Norwegian Biografical encyclopedia (in Norwegian), accessdate=2010-12-10
South-Pole.com, An Antarctic Timeline, accessdate=2010-12-10
Antarctic-Circle.org, Antarctic voyages and expeditions, accessdate=2010-12-10
New Zealand History online, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, accessdate=2010-12-10
, Norway's Forgotten Explorer.org, Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, accessdate=2010-12-10
, Antarctica.org, Antarctic History, accessdate=2010-12-10 In 1898 ''Antarctic'' captained by Emil Nilsson carried Nathorst's polar expedition to Bear Island (Norway), Bear Island,

and

Kong Karls Land Kong Karls Land or King Charles Land is an island group in the Svalbard archipelago, in the Arctic Ocean. The island group covers an area of and is made up of the islands of Kongsøya, Svenskøya, Abel Island, Helgoland Island, and Tirpitzø ...

. Among the participating scientists were Axel Hamberg, Otto Kjellström, Gustaf Kolthoff and Henrik Hesselman. In 1899 the ship left on an expedition also under the command of Nathorst to

North Greenland The Northern Inspectorate of Greenland (), also known as North Greenland, was a Danish inspectorate on Greenland consisting of the trading centers and missionary stations along the northwest coast of the island. History West Greenland was di ...

with the dual purpose of searching for survivors of the 1897 Andrée's Arctic Balloon Expedition and geographical mapping the area.
Alfred Nathorst, ”Två Somrar i Norra Ishafvet”, second part (in Swedish), 1900, accessdate=2010-12-10 Later the same year ''Antarctic'' carried Amdrup's expedition to

. In 1901 the ship, then on loan from Nordenskjöld, carried the second season of the Swedish-Russian Arc-of-Meridian Expedition under the command of

Gerard De Geer Baron Gerard Jacob De Geer (20 November 1858 – 24 July 1943) was a Swedish geologist who made significant contributions to Quaternary geology, particularly geomorphology and geochronology. De Geer is best known for his work on varves. In 1890 ...

.
, Department of Earth Sciences, Lisbeth Levander, Uppsala University (in Swedish), accessdate=2010-12-10 On October 16, 1901 ''Antarctic'' now captained by Carl Anton Larsen left

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

harbor on Nordenskjold's Antarctic expedition.
South-Pole.com, Nordenskjöld article, accessdate=2010-12-10
Hvar 8 dag, Project Runeberg, Linköping University (in Swedish), accessdate=2010-12-10, Bjerrang, Antarctic quest, accessdate=2010-12-10 This would become the ship's last voyage.

The ship wrecking

After exploring parts of the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

the expedition continued through the Antarctic Sound towards the

. On January 15, 1902 Hope Bay was discovered. In February Nordenskjöld chose

Snow Hill Island Snow Hill Island is an almost completely snowcapped island, long and wide, lying off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from James Ross Island to the north-east by Admiralty Sound and from Seymour Island to the north by ...

as winter camp for part of the expedition. After all preparations were completed ''Antarctic'' left for the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

. After the winter the ship left the Falklands on November 5 heading back to the Antarctic Peninsula by way of

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

for supplies. On December 29 ''Antarctic'' was trapped in pack ice near Hope Bay, and some of the crew was put ashore. ''Antarctic'' later broke free and continued towards

Paulet Island Paulet Island is a Circle, circular island about in diameter, lying south-east of Dundee Island, off the north-eastern end of the Antarctic Peninsula. Because of its large penguin colony, it is a popular destination for sightseeing tours. D ...

; on the way the ship once again was trapped in pack ice on January 3, 1903. On February 3 the ship again broke free but was now damaged and leaking. Captain Larsen now intended to beach ''Antarctic'' on Paulet Island, but the ship was too damaged and sank about off the coast on February 12, 1903., Chalmers Magazine, Chalmers University of Technology (in Swedish), accessdate=2010-12-10 In November all crewmembers (including Carl Skottsberg,

Johan Gunnar Andersson Johan Gunnar Andersson (3 July 1874 – 29 October 1960)"Andersson, Johan Gunnar" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a Swedish archaeologist, geomorphologist, ...

, José María Sobral and

Frank Wilbert Stokes Frank Wilbert Stokes, also known as Frank Stokes, Frank W. Stokes and F. W. Stokes
, Smithsonian American Art M ...

) were rescued by the Argentine

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

''Uruguay'' captained by Julián Irízar.

Epitaph

When Nathorst heard about the ship wrecking he commented "seems to me more glorious than if she had gone to meet the usual fate of vessels to slowly rot in some port, or to be used for something far off from her designation and purposes as an icy seas and research vessel". In 1944 Johan Gunnar Andersson published a commemorative book ''Antarctic :Stolt har hon levat Stolt skall hon dö – Antarctic: proud she lived proud she shall die''. The Antarctic Sound, Antarctic Bay (Greenland) and Antarctic Haven in

, Antarcticberget in

as well as Antarctic Bay in

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

and the Antarctic Sound in Antarctica, were named after the ship.''Catalogue of place names in northern East Greenland'', Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

References

External links