Social Structure on the Fram

Amundsen was known for being an innovative thinker. His unique leadership skills are often credited for being the reason his journey to and from the South Pole was successful while the journey led to the antarctic by Robert Falcon Scott, a very traditionalist leader, was not. Amundsen was aware of the conflict that could arise in isolated situations between formal and informal leadership roles. For this reason he kept the backgrounds of all crew members homogenous; there were no scientists allowed on the crew in the hopes of reducing tension that could arise from conflict of backgrounds. In addition, all crew members had to provide an essential "service" to the expedition in hopes of bringing the least number of crew members as possible; more crew members meant more equipment and resources on board, something that Amundsen tried to decrease as much as possible. In order to assure his dominance on the ship before setting out on his journey, Amundsen tested all potential crew members' ability to listen to authority by giving them strange and irrelevant work assignments to see if there would be any potential competition to his authority. Screening all possible members of the crew before setting sail was meant to minimize the likelihood of conflict due to role collision once on the journey.

Roald Amundsen's Selection Process for the Fram

Formal Roles of the Crew Members

Roald Amundsen - Expedition Leader
Lieutenant Thorvald Nilsen - First Lieutenant, 2nd in command
Lieutenant Frekrick Gjertsen - First Mate
Lieutenant Kristian Prestrude - Second Officer, Expedition Navigator
Ajalmar Johansen-
Adolf Henrick Lindstrom - Cook, Carpenter
Olav Olavson Bjaaland -
Helmer Hanssen - Dog Driver, Navigator
Sverne Hassel - Dog Drive, Navigator
Oskar Wisting - Naval Gunner, Whaling Experience in Arctic
Ludvig Hansen - Seaman and Ice Pilot
Martin Ronne - Skilled Sail Maker
Jorgen Stubberud - Carpenter
Andreas Beck - Seaman and Ice Pilot
Knut Snudbeck - Engineer
Jacob Nodtvedt - 2nd Engineer
Alexander Kutchin - Cook, Carpenter
H. Kristensen - Deck Hand, 3rd Engineer

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.