Helmer Hanssen | |
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| Born | (1870-09-24)24 September 1870 Bjørnskinn,Nordland, Norway |
| Died | 2 August 1956(1956-08-02) (aged 85) |
| Occupation(s) | Seal hunter, ice pilot, polar explorer and captain |
Helmer Julius Hanssen (24 September 1870 – 2 August 1956) was aNorwegian sailor, pilot and polar explorer. He participated in three of the polar expeditions led byRoald Amundsen and was one of the first five explorers to reach theSouth Pole.[1][2]
Helmer Hanssen was born inBjørnskinn, on the island ofAndøya inNordland, Norway. He was an experienced ice pilot, a skill he had learned while hunting aroundSpitsbergen. Between 1894 and 1897, he hunted small whales and seals in theArctic Sea. He later sailed for the Norwegian shipping company, Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab.[3]
From 1903 to 1905 Helmer Hanssen participated inRoald Amundsen's successful search for theNorthwest Passage, as second mate on board the shipGjøa. On the expedition he learned from theInuit how to drivesled dogs. In 1910 he headed south with Amundsen to conquer theSouth Pole, this time as an expert dog driver. He was also in charge ofnavigation, carrying the mastercompass on his sledge.[4]
He was one of the first five peopleto reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911, along with Roald Amundsen,Olav Bjaaland,Oscar Wisting, andSverre Hassel. During their stay at the South Pole, it is estimated that Hanssen passed within 200 yards (180 meters) of the mathematical South Pole point. This was during one of his ski runs which Amundsen had ordered be performed to completely encircle or "box" the pole, to ensure that there was no doubt that the expedition had attained the pole. For his participation in the expedition, he was awarded theSouth Pole Medal (Sydpolsmedaljen), the Royal Norwegian award instituted by KingHaakon VII in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition.[5]
In 1919 he once again went north, this time as captain onMaud in Roald Amundsen'sNortheast Passage expedition. Helmer Hanssen was awarded theKnight of St. Olav for exceptional seamanship on Roald Amundsen's expeditions in the northern and southern parts of the world. In 1936 Hanssen published his autobiographyThe Voyages of a Modern Viking, (London: G. Routledge & Sons Limited, 1936).[6]
A statue of Helmer Hanssen together with the rest of Roald Amundsen's Antarctic explorer team is located at theFram Museum atBygdøy in Oslo, Norway.[7] A scientific research vessel, the FF Helmer Hanssen, has also been named in his honour.[8][9]
Hanssen was portrayed byJan Hårstad in the 1985 television serialThe Last Place on Earth,[10] and byMads Sjøgård Pettersen in the 2019 filmAmundsen.
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