Per John Savio (16 October 1879 – 10 October 1905) was a Norwegian polar explorer and

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and t ...

driver. As a member of the ''Southern Cross'' expedition 1898–1900, Savio together with Ole Must were the first to overnight on the Antarctic continent. He was also part of the sled team who were the first persons to travel on the

Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between h ...

and reaching a new

Farthest South Farthest South refers to the most southerly latitude reached by explorers before the first successful expedition to the South Pole in 1911. Significant steps on the road to the pole were the discovery of lands south of Cape Horn in 1619, Capta ...

record.

Biography

Per John Johansen Savio was born at

Sør-Varanger Sør-Varanger ( sme, Máttá-Várjjat, fkv, Etelä-Varenki, fi, Etelä-Varanki, russian: Сёр-Вара́нгер/Syor-Varánger) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town ...

, Norway. He was a member of a

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

family. He was 21 years old when he joined the "Southern Cross" vessel to Antarctica in 1898. He married Else Josefsdatter Strimp, daughter of the Sami merchant Josef Strimp at

Bugøynes ( fi, Pykeijä) is a fishing village in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in northeastern Norway. The village is situated along the Varangerfjorden which is a vast bay off the Barents Sea (a part of the Arctic Ocean), near th ...

. They had three children together, of whom only their son John Savio (1902–1938) reached adulthood and became a famous Sami artist.

''Southern Cross'' expedition

The ''Southern Cross'' expedition was the first British discovery voyage in the

Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often ci ...

and a forerunner of the more famous expeditions of

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of A ...

, and

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, 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, Amu ...

. It was the Norwegian-born, half-English explorer and schoolmaster

Carsten Borchgrevink Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1 December 186421 April 1934) was an Anglo-Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of Antarctic travel. He inspired Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and others associated with the Her ...

who had the idea for and led the expedition. Ten expedition members were to spend the night at Cape Adare on 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 vi ...

, and Borchgrevink had selected the two Sami—Per Savio and Ole Must—as dog sledders. The plan was to use the dogs on sleigh rides across the continent. The expedition arrived at Cape Adare, where Borchgrevink had been ashore during the expedition of 1894–1895, on 17 February 1899. The 75 dogs were sent ashore first with their Sami caretakers, and the two thus became the first to spend a night on the Antarctic continent. At Cape Adare, an extensive scientific program was carried out, but the opportunities for further exploration of the hinterland were severely limited by the mountainous terrain with many glaciers surrounding the camp. They then explored the Ross Sea along the same route that

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle Sir John Ross, John Ross, and four led b ...

had followed 60 years earlier. After reaching the

Great Ice Barrier The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between ...

, a group of three consisting of Borchgrevink, Savio and William Colbeck became the first to make a sleigh ride on the barrier surface. They reached 78° 50′S, the southernmost point until then reached by humans, earning Amundsen's approbation: "We must acknowledge that, by ascending the Barrier, Borchgrevink opened the way to the south, and threw aside the greatest obstacle to the expeditions that followed".Amundsen, Vol I, pp. 25–26 Borchgrevink later described Savio as "recognized for his loyal nature, boldness and intelligence."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savio, Per 1879 births 1905 deaths Explorers of Antarctica Norwegian polar explorers People from Sør-Varanger Polar explorers Sámi people