The first expedition to reach the geographic
South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer
Roald Amundsen. His party arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a
British team led by Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen and his companions returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey. Amundsen's initial plans had been to explore the Arctic, but he decided to go south on hearing that both
Frederick Cook and
Robert E. Peary were claiming to have reached the North Pole. However, he kept this revised objective secret until after his departure. The expedition arrived in Antarctica in January 1911 and after months of preparation the five-man polar party set out in October 1911. The route from their base at the
Bay of Whales took them across the
Great Ice Barrier and up the
Axel Heiberg Glacier. The party's mastery of the use of skis and their expertise with sledge dogs ensured rapid and relatively trouble-free travel. Although the expedition's success was widely applauded, the story of Scott's heroic failure and tragic death overshadowed its achievements. For his decision to keep his true plans secret until the last moment, Amundsen was criticised for what some considered deception on his part. (
more...)
... that Sancti Spiritu, the first European settlement in modern
Argentina, was destroyed by natives two years later?
... that Yad Sarah, the largest national
volunteer organization in Israel, has over 6,000 volunteers – including its founder,
Uri Lupolianski, former mayor of Jerusalem?
1999 – Torrential rains caused
flash floods in
Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.
This Wikipedia is written in
English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains
3,822,032 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
The first expedition to reach the geographic
South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer
Roald Amundsen. His party arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a
British team led by Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen and his companions returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey. Amundsen's initial plans had been to explore the Arctic, but he decided to go south on hearing that both
Frederick Cook and
Robert E. Peary were claiming to have reached the North Pole. However, he kept this revised objective secret until after his departure. The expedition arrived in Antarctica in January 1911 and after months of preparation the five-man polar party set out in October 1911. The route from their base at the
Bay of Whales took them across the
Great Ice Barrier and up the
Axel Heiberg Glacier. The party's mastery of the use of skis and their expertise with sledge dogs ensured rapid and relatively trouble-free travel. Although the expedition's success was widely applauded, the story of Scott's heroic failure and tragic death overshadowed its achievements. For his decision to keep his true plans secret until the last moment, Amundsen was criticised for what some considered deception on his part. (
more...)
... that Sancti Spiritu, the first European settlement in modern
Argentina, was destroyed by natives two years later?
... that Yad Sarah, the largest national
volunteer organization in Israel, has over 6,000 volunteers – including its founder,
Uri Lupolianski, former mayor of Jerusalem?
1999 – Torrential rains caused
flash floods in
Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.
This Wikipedia is written in
English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains
3,822,032 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.