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Roald Amundsen Facts & Worksheets

Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was the first to sail the Arctic's Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to Pacific, the first to reach the South Pole, and the first to cross the Arctic by air.

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Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was the first to sail the Arctic’s Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to Pacific, the first to reach the South Pole, and the first to cross the Arctic by air. He was one of the most significant figures during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

See the fact file below for more information on the Roald Amundsen or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Roald Amundsen worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • Roald Engelbert Gravning Amundsen was born on July 16, 1872 in Borge, Ostfold, Norway.
  • He was born into a well-to-do family of Norwegian shipowners and captains from Borge. He was the fourth son of Jen Amundsen and Hanna Sahlqvist.
  • His mother tried to steer him away from the family maritime trade and pressured him to be a doctor. Amundsen conceded until his mother died when he was 21. He immediately quit university for an explorer life.
  • He was proud to be referred to as “the last of the Vikings”. From the first time he saw the frozen terrain and read about Englishman John Franklin’s catastrophic search for the Northwest passage, he developed a fascination with the polar regions. He would sleep with his windows open despite the frigid Norwegian winter to prepare for polar exploration.
  • At the age of 25, Amundsen sailed as a first mate when he joined the Belgian Antarctic Expedition led by Adrien de Gerlache using the RV Belgica ship.
  • The ship got stuck in the sea ice at 70°30′S off Alexander Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The crew was very susceptible to scurvy. The ship’s doctor, Frederick Cook, saved them by feeding them hunted animals’ meat that made their own vitamin C. It was an essential lesson for Amundsen that he could use in the future.

FIRSTS EXPEDITIONS

  • In 1903, Amundsen was ready to lead his first expedition. It traversed Canada’s Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
  • His crew consisted of just six men in a 45-ton fishing vessel, Gjøa. His plan was to use a small ship to maneuver the shallow passages through the Canadian archipelago.
  • They spent two winters at the harbor of King William Islands, now called the Gjøa Haven, where they learned about Arctic survival skills from the local Netsilik Inuit natives.
  • It included how they should carefully choose and treat reindeer skins so that they could keep them comfortably dry and warm while still allowing them to move freely, and how to drive sleds and use them for the transportation of goods. The locals also taught him how to hunt for seals and fish.
  • He was the first to complete the Northwest Passage’s navigation in 1905 but had to stop for the winter before going to Nome on Alaska’s Pacific coast. He wanted to wire a message of his success, but as the nearest telegraph station was 500 miles away, Amundsen had to travel there overland. He returned to Nome in 1906.

EXPEDITION IN THE SOUTH POLE

  • Armed with new survival skills in the polar regions, he planned the North Pole expedition in 1909. However, when he learned that a team of American explorers claimed to have reached the North Pole, he changed his plan and moved his mission to the South instead as he wanted to do something important in the eyes of the world.
  • His plans became problematic again when Robert Falcon Scott announced the same intention to go south. Also, the Norwegian government funded his expedition, knowing that it was for the Arctic.
  • He decided to keep his journey to the South secret and have everyone think, including his crew, that he was bound to the North. He only told the change of plan to his brother Leon and Thorvald Nilsen, the ship’s commander.
  • Amundsen used the ship Fram and left Oslo on June 3, 1910. He waited until he reached Madeira to let his crew know the change of plan, which was received positively.
  • He made the news public on October 2, informing Frost through a telegram saying, “BEG TO INFORM YOU FRAM PROCEEDING ANTARCTIC- AMUNDSEN.” Frost stated that Amundsen’s presence did not affect his own plans for the Pole.
  • They arrived at the eastern edge of Ross Ice Shelf called the Bay of Whales on January 14, 1911. Despite the place being rejected by previous explorers as a base camp because of its instability, Amundsen used it and named his camp Framheim, which means Home of Fram.
  • He created supply depots at 80°, 81°, and 82° south, along a line directly to the South Pole. During the winter period, Amundsen’s crew prepared for the attempt on the Pole the following spring. They kept busy improving equipment, particularly the sleds.
  • The spring came, and Amundsen thought they were ready to start their journey to the Pole. His team consisted of eight people, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, Oscar Wisting, Jørgen Stubberud, Hjalmar Johansen, Kristian Prestrud, and Amundsen. Soon after their departure, the temperatures fell to -60°F so they decided to turn back to Framheim and wait for warmer conditions.
  • Johannsen accused Amundsen of abandoning him and Prestud, who suffered from frostbite, and the latter had to be carried through the blizzard.
  • Amundsen decided to reorganize his Pole team and reduced it to five. He tasked Pestrud with Johannsen and Stubberd in the exploration of Edward VII Land.
  • The new team departed on October 19, 1911, with their four sleds and 52 dogs. They chose to climb the newly discovered route Axel Heiberg Glacier during this journey, which they were lucky to find as it gave a quicker way up to the Polar Plateau. They camped at a place named “Butcher Shop”, where 24 of their dogs were killed and fed to the remaining dogs. They also had to brave several days of blizzards.
  • On December 14, 1911, the Amundsen’s team arrived at the Pole (90°00’S). They arrived 35 days earlier than Scott’s group. The latter followed the route discovered by Shackleton three years previously. Also, unlike Amundsen’s team, they were not as skilled as handling sleds and dogs. They even transported Mongolian horses on the initial part of their journey. Amundsen’s party left a small tent stating their accomplishment.

OTHER EXPEDITIONS

  • Amundsen began a new expedition in 1918 with the new ship, Maud. It lasted until 1925 and was considered unsuccessful.
  • Its goal was to explore the Arctic Ocean’s undiscovered areas and freeze the Maud into an Arctic ice cap and drift it towards the North Pole.
  • However, the ice became so thick and froze the ship on the ice sea. It was only able to break free after several days but got stuck again after eleven days.
  • Amundsen also suffered a broken arm and was attacked by polar bears during this expedition, so he did very little work outdoors.
  • Other difficulties they encountered included discovering that the ice was not solidly frozen in the Bering Strait and could not be crossed, and Amundsen going bankrupt during the expedition. The Maud did not reach the North Pole.
  • Amundsen also tried Aerial Expeditions to the North Pole in 1923 with Oskar Omdal of the Royal Norwegian Navy. They abandoned the journey after the aircraft was damaged. He went on a lecture tour in the United States in 1924 to raise additional funds.
  • He engaged in two more Aerial expeditions in 1925 and 1926, wherein in the latter year, they made the historic first crossing of the Arctic using the airship Norge, designed by Nobile.

DEATH AND DISAPPEARANCE

  • On May 25, the airship led by Nobile crashed while returning from the North Pole. With the Norwegian pilot Lief Dietrichson, French pilot René Guilbaud, and three other Frenchmen, Amundsen conducted a rescue mission in the Arctic.
  • However, on June 18, his French Latham 47 airship never returned. It is assumed the plane crashed in the Barents sea and all of them were killed even though no bodies were found.
  • A search party was conducted by the Royal Norwegian Navy using the unmanned submarine to look for the wreckage of the Amundsen’s plane in 2004 and 2000, but they found nothing from said flight.

Roald Amundsen Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Roald Amundsen across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Roald Amundsen worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Roald Amundsen who was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was the first to sail the Arctic’s Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to Pacific, the first to reach the South Pole, and the first to cross the Arctic by air. He was one of the most significant figures during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Roald Amundsen Facts 
  • Young Explorer
  • Tale of Two Explorers
  • Discovering Words  
  • Four Skills 
  • Influential Figures
  • Famous Polar Explorers 
  • Explorer’s Journal
  • Inquiries About Amundsen
  • Amundsen’s Expeditions
  • Always Be Prepared

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Amundsen famous for?

The Norwegian-born explorer, Amundsen, made history by achieving the astonishing feat of becoming the first individual to successfully cross through the North-West Passage and reach both Poles – South Pole as well as North Pole with a transarctic flight!

Was Amundsen attacked by a polar bear?

That fateful winter, Amundsen faced numerous perils: he plunged through the ice and fractured his arm in two places; a polar bear attack left him injured; and carbon monoxide poisoning almost cost him his life.

Where did Amundsen dream first?

In order to keep his ambition of becoming the first explorer of the South Pole alive, he had to secretly plan his expedition. Sadly, two American explorers – Frederic Cook and Robert Peary – stole away his dream by being the first people ever to explore and reach the North Pole.

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