Viktor Esbensen (11 March 1881 – 29 January 1942) was a Norwegian

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor' ...

known for exploring the

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

region together with his father-in-law

Carl Anton Larsen Carl Anton Larsen (7 August 1860 – 8 December 1924) was a Norwegian-born whaler and Antarctic explorer who made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica, the most significant being the first discovery of fossils for which h ...

, looking to make a living from

whaling 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 ...

. He was killed when his ship was sunk in

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 ...

Early life

Esbensen was born at

Vardø Vardo or Vardø may refer to: Places * Vardø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Vardø (town) (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Vard� ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

, Norway to Peder Esbensen (1842–1897) and his wife Karen Cappelen Berge (1849–1892). Both his parents had died by 1897 after which he was adopted by the Larsen family and went to live in

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

. In 1907 in

Ullern Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...

he married Elvina Adeline Birgithe Larsen (1884–1956) who was the daughter of ship-owner and whaler

. The couple settled in

Bærum Municipality Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). The administr ...

, and had six children.

Career

Esbensen was educated as a

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

and

shipmaster A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

after leaving middle school. He was among the original founding party of

Grytviken Grytviken ( ) is a Hamlet (place), hamlet on South Georgia in the South Atlantic. Formerly a whaling station, it was the largest settlement on the island. Grytviken is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, ...

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. ...

along with Carl Anton Larsen. Esbensen was a manager for

Compañía Argentina de Pesca Compañía Argentina de Pesca () was initiated by the British-Norwegian whaler and Antarctic explorer Carl A. Larsen, and established on 29 February 1904 by three foreign residents of Buenos Aires: the Norwegian consul P. Christophersen, ...

, which organized the building of Grytviken, the first land-based whaling station in

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. ...

put into operation on 24 December 1904. Esbensen Bay is named after him. Around the outbreak of

, Esbensen took over as Captain of the ship SS ''Bjørnvik''. The ship escaped the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, having arrived in

Methil Methil () is a coastal town in Fife, Scotland. Methil has ancient origins: two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as over 8,000 years old. The town was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to ...

on 3 April, and continued in service in and around the United Kingdom. On the morning of 27 January 1942, the ship was en route from

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...

with a cargo of patent fuel, and had joined a convoy. However, due to bad weather the ship lost its convoy in the evening the same day, and in the afternoon the next day it was suddenly attacked and sunk by German aircraft outside of Falmouth, England. The ship being hit by five bombs, she sank in half a minute. Most of its crew perished, including Esbensen. His date of death was given as 29 January. Only the first mate, a stoker and a gunner survived.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esbensen, Victor 1881 births 1942 deaths Norwegian explorers Norwegian explorers of Antarctica Norwegian people in whaling History of South Georgia South Orkney Islands Norwegian civilians killed in World War II Whaling in Antarctica People from Vardø

Early life

Career

See also

References