Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen (20 February 1886 – 2 September 1957) was a Danish

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

, author, journalist and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

. He is notable for his role in

Arctic exploration Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

, namely the Thule Expeditions.

Early life, family and education

Freuchen was born in

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a city on the island of Falster in southern Denmark. It has a population of 16,682 (1 January 2025). Including the satellite town Sundby (Lolland), Sundby on the Lolland side, with a populatio ...

, Denmark, the son of Anne Petrine Frederikke (née Rasmussen; 1862–1945) and Lorentz Benzon Freuchen (1859–1927), a businessman. Freuchen was baptized in the local church. He attended the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

where for a time he studied medicine.

Career

In 1906, he went on his first expedition to Greenland as a member of the

Denmark expedition The Denmark expedition (), also known as the Denmark Expedition to Greenland's Northeast Coast and the Danmark Expedition after the ship's name, was an expedition to northeastern Greenland in 1906–1908. Despite being overshadowed by the dea ...

. Between 1910 and 1924, he undertook several expeditions, often with the noted Polar explorer

Knud Rasmussen Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies) ...

. He worked with Rasmussen in crossing the

Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet is an ice sheet which forms the second largest body of ice in the world. It is an average of thick and over thick at its maximum. It is almost long in a north–south direction, with a maximum width of at a latitude ...

. He spent many years in

North Star Bay North Star Bay (), also known as Thule Harbor and Wolstenholme Bay, is at the mouth of Wolstenholme Fjord in north-west Greenland. The Dundas Peninsula, terminating in the mesa-like Mount Dundas, is at the north-eastern end of the bay. Two large ...

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 ...

, living with the Polar Inuit. In 1935, Freuchen visited

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and by the end of the decade, he had travelled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. In 1910, Knud Rasmussen and Peter Freuchen established the Thule Trading Station at North Star Bay in the Cape York district of Greenland, as a trading base. The name Thule was chosen because it was the most northerly trading post in the world, literally the " Ultima Thule".Knud Rasmussen, 1927, ''Across Arctic America'', Introduction. Thule Trading Station became the home base for a series of seven expeditions, known as the '' Thule Expeditions'', between 1912 and 1933. The First Thule Expedition (1912, Rasmussen, Freuchen, Inukitsork, and Uvdloriark) aimed to test

Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was long credited as being ...

's claim that a channel divided

Peary Land Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the nor ...

from Greenland. They proved this was not the case in a journey across the inland ice that almost killed them.Elizabeth Cruwys, 2003.

Clements Markham Sir Clements Robert Markham (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president fo ...

, president of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, called the journey the "finest ever performed by dogs." Freuchen wrote personal accounts of this journey (and others) in ''Vagrant Viking'' (1953) and ''I Sailed with Rasmussen'' (1958). He states in ''Vagrant Viking'' that only one other

dogsled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow, a practice known as mushing. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Tradi ...

trip across Greenland was ever successful. When he got stuck under an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

, he claims to have used his own

feces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

to fashion a dagger with which he freed himself. While in Denmark, Freuchen and Rasmussen held a series of lectures about their expeditions and the

Inuit culture The Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America (parts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland). The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat (northern Alaska), and Yupik peoples, Yup ...

. Freuchen's first wife, Mequpaluk, who took the name Navarana, accompanied him on several expeditions. When she died he wanted her buried in the old church graveyard in

Upernavik Kanunarinaqiniiaaq (known as Upernavik) is a small town in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,064 inhabitants as of 2024, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. It c ...

. The church refused to perform the burial, because Navarana was not baptized, so Freuchen buried her himself. Knud Rasmussen later used the name Navarana for the lead role in the movie '' Palos Brudefærd'' which was filmed in East Greenland in 1933. Freuchen strongly criticized the Christian church which sent

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

among the Inuit without understanding their culture and traditions. When Freuchen returned to Denmark in the 1920s, he joined the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

and contributed with articles in the newspaper ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

''. From 1926 to 1932, he served as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of a magazine, ''

Ude og Hjemme ''Ude og Hjemme'' () is a weekly general interest and women's magazine published in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1926 it is one of the oldest magazines in the country. History and profile ''Ude og Hjemme'' was first published on 15 January 19 ...

'', owned by the family of his second wife. He was also the leader of a movie company. In 1932, Freuchen returned to Greenland. This time the expedition was financed by the American

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

film studios. He was also employed by the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

as a consultant and scriptwriter, specializing in

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 ( ...

-related scripts, most notably MGM's

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning '' Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent'' starring

Ray Mala Ray Mala (born Ray Agnaqsiaq Wise, also known as Ach-nach-chiak ( Iñupiaq othography: ''Aġnatchiaq'' or ''Aġnasiaq''); December 27, 1906 – September 23, 1952) was a prominent Alaska Native actor. He was one of Hollywood's Native Americ ...

, and featuring Freuchen as Ship Captain. The film is based on Freuchen's novels ''Der Eskimo'' and ''Die Flucht ins weisse Land''. In 1938, he founded The Adventurer's Club of Denmark (Danish: ''Eventyrernes Klub''), which still exists. They later honored his memory by planting an oak tree and creating an

Inuksuk An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) or inukshuk is a type of stone landmark or cairn built by, and for the use of, Inuit, Iñupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found in northern Canad ...

(a type of stone landmark or cairn) near the place where he left Denmark for Greenland in 1906. It is situated east of Langeliniebroen in central

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and not far from the statue of ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Freuchen was actively involved with the

Danish resistance movement The Danish resistance movements () were an underground insurgency to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the initially lenient arrangements, in which the Nazi occupation authority allowed the democratic govern ...

against the occupation by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

despite having lost his left foot to

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...

in 1926. He openly claimed to be

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

whenever he witnessed anti-semitism. Freuchen was imprisoned by the Germans and sentenced to death, but he managed to escape and flee to Sweden. In 1945 he married Danish-Jewish designer Dagmar Freuchen-Gale. In 1956, he won the main prize on ''

The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' is an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...

'', an American TV quiz-show, on the subject "The Seven Seas"; it made him instantly better known in the United States due to the popularity of the show. As he related in ''Vagrant Viking'', he was friends with the royal families of Scandinavia and other countries, and his movie work in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Hollywood brought him into the 'royalty' of moving pictures and the political world of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Personal life

Freuchen was married three times. He was first married in 1911 to Navarana Mequpaluk (d. 1921), an

Inuk Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...

woman who died in the

Spanish Flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

epidemic after bearing two children (a boy named Mequsaq Avataq Igimaqssusuktoranguapaluk (1916 – ) and a girl named Pipaluk Jette Tukuminguaq Kasaluk Palika (1918–1999)). His second marriage was to (1881–1960), daughter of (1847–1920), Danish businessman and director of

Danmarks Nationalbank Danmarks Nationalbank (in Danish often simply ''Nationalbanken'') is the central bank of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is a non-eurozone member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). Since its establishment in 1818, the objecti ...

. The marriage started in 1924 and was dissolved in 1944. In 1945, he married Danish fashion illustrator, Dagmar Cohn (1907–1991). Freuchen's grandson, Peter Ittinuar, was the first Inuk in Canada to be elected as an MP, and represented the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Nunatsiaq in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1979 to 1984. From 1926 to 1940, Freuchen owned the Danish island in

Nakskov Fjord Nakskov Fjord is an inlet in the west of the island of Lolland, Denmark. It is about long. There are about 10 small islands located in the fjord. The largest town in the area is Nakskov. The area is a designated bird sanctuary. Geography Naks ...

. During this period he wrote several books and articles and entertained guests. At this time, Freuchen became heavily invested in

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

. Since 2000, the uninhabited island has been a part of Nakskov Vildtreservat, a wildlife reserve. In his later years, Freuchen and his wife Dagmar lived in

and maintained a second home in

Noank, Connecticut Noank ( ) is a village in the town of Groton, Connecticut. This dense community of historic homes and local businesses sits on a small, steep peninsula at the mouth of the Mystic River (Connecticut), Mystic River and has a long tradition of fishi ...

. The preface of his last work, ''Book of the Seven Seas'', is dated 30 August 1957, in Noank. He died of a heart attack three days later at the

Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command ( ...

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. After his death, his ashes were scattered on the famous table-shaped Mount Dundas outside of Thule.

Honours and awards

* Member, Royal Danish Geographical Society * Fellow,

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

* 1921 – Hans Egede Medal from the Royal Danish Geographical Society

Freuchen Land Freuchen Land is a peninsula in far northwestern Greenland. It is a part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. History Freuchen Land was named after Arctic explorer Peter Freuchen (1886–1957), who took part in the 1906–1908 Denmark exp ...

in Greenland was named after him and Navarana Fjord was named after his first wife.

Literary prizes

* 1938 – Sophus Michaëlis' Legat * 1954 – Herman Bangs Mindelegat * 1955 – Kaptajn H.C. Lundgreens Legat

Selected works

* ''Grønland, land og folk'', 1927 (Travelbook) Freuchen's first book * ''Storfanger'', 1927 (Novel) * ''Rømningsmand'', 1928 (novel) * ''Nordkaper'', 1929 – The Sea Tyrant (novel) * ''Ivalu'', 1930 – Ivalu, the Eskimo Wife – suomennettu (novel) * ''Knud Rasmussen''. Mindeudgave. 3 vol, 1934 (Peter Freuchen, Therkel Mathiassen and Kaj Birket-Smith) * ''Flugten til Sydamerika'', 1935 (Memories) * ''Arctic Adventure: My Life in the Frozen North'', Farrar & Rinehart, New York, Toronto, Copyright 1935. * ''Min grønlandske ungdom'', 1936 and 1953 (Memories) * ''Nuoruuteni Grönlannissa'' (Memories) * ''Min anden ungdom'', 1938 (Memories) * ''Sibiriske eventyr'', 1939 (Memories) * ''Diamantdronningen'', 1941 (novel) * ''Hvid mand'', 1943 – White Man – Valkoinen mies eskimoiden parissa (novel) * ''Eskimofortællinger'', 1944 (novel) * ''Solfjeld'', 1944 (novel) * ''Larions lov'', 1948 – The Law of Larion (novel about the inland Indians along the Yukon river) * ''Nigger-Dan'', 1951 (novel, aka ''The Legend of Daniel Williams'') * ''I al frimodighed'' 1953 (Memories) * ''Ice Floes and Flaming Water'', 1954 * ''I all uppriktighet'', 1954 (Memories) * ''Vagrant Viking'', 1954 (Memories) * ''Fremdeles frimodig'', 1955 * ''Fortfarende uppriktig'', 1956 og 1960 (Memories) * ''Fangsmænd i Melville-bugten'', 1956 – Pyyntimiehiä Melville lahdella (novel) * ''Fra Thule til Rio'', 1957 (Memories) * ''Peter Freuchen's Book of the Seven Seas'', Julian Messner, Inc., New York, Copyright 1957. * ''Peter Freuchens bog om de syv have'', 1959 (Documentary) * ''The Arctic Year'', G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, Copyright 1958. (Peter Freuchen and

Finn Salomonsen Finn Salomonsen (31 January 1909 – 23 April 1983) was a Danish ornithologist. He is best known for his work on the birds of Greenland. His interest in Greenland began at the age of 16 when he made a trip with Lehn Schioler to the Upernavik Dis ...

) * ''I Sailed with Rasmussen'', 1958 (Documentary) * ''Hvalfangerne'', 1959 (novel) * ''Peter Freuchen's Adventures in the Arctic'', Julian Messner, Inc., New York, Copyright 1960. (Edited by Dagmar Freuchen) * ''Det arktiske år'', 1961 – Arctic Year (Documentary) * ''Peter Freuchen's Book of the Eskimos'', Peter Freuchen Estate. Cleveland Ohio, Copyright 1961. (Edited by Dagmar Freuchen) * ''Erindringer'', 1963 – (Edited by Dagmar Freuchen)

Biography

References

External links

Peter Freuchen on litteraturpriser.dk
(Danish)
Peter Freuchen
(Danish)
Photograph of Peter Freuchen and Dagmar Freuchen
(Irving Penn) * Petri Liukkonen

Authors' Calendar * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freuchen, Peter 1886 births 1957 deaths 20th-century anthropologists 20th-century Danish journalists Anti-fascists Danish amputees Danish anthropologists Danish emigrants to Greenland Danish emigrants to the United States Danish explorers Danish polar explorers Danish resistance members Danish socialists Danish travel writers Greenlandic polar explorers People from Nykøbing Falster Scandinavian explorers of North America Scientists with disabilities University of Copenhagen alumni