Biographies of Critical People in the Fram

Roald Amundsen

Amundsen was born on July 16, 1872 near Oslo, Norway. He remains to date one of the most successful polar explorers ever, being both the first person to fly over the North Pole in a dirigible in May 1926 and the first person to reach the South Pole in December 1911. His mother had originally wanted him to be a doctor, so Amundsen studied medicine until the age of 21 when his mother passed away; he then dropped out of school to become an explorer. Amundsen's first experience in the Antarctic was with Adrien de Gerlache's 1899 Belgica Expedition as Gerlache's first mate. In 1903 Amundsen led a crew up to the North Pole, attempting unsuccessfully to use Arctic currents to reach the Pole and unintentionally drifted through the Northwest Passage, becoming the second person in history to do so. Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole on the Fram launched in June 1910 and returned successful in March 1912. Amundsen died June 22, 1928 at the age of 52 while trying to rescue a friend who had been lost in a dirigible crash that was later found by rescuers.

Colin Archer

Archer was born July 22, 1832 and was from Larvik, Norway. He was a naval architect and shipbuilder. One of his most important ship designs was The Fram, the ship used in Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole. Prior to his career as a shipbuilder, he spent time in Queensland, Australia. Archer is known especially for building safe, sturdy ships. He did a lot of calculations on how to design an efficient hull, and his research is still consulted today by modern shipbuilders. Archer did February 3, 1921. Over his career he is credited with the design of over 200 vessels.