Biography

After school he began studying medicine, which he stopped after his father's death. He now turned to seafaring, which had fascinated him since his early youth. From 1897 to 1899, Amundsen took part as a helmsman in the South Polar expedition of the Belgian Adrien de Gerlache. This sparked his interest in polar research. As part of an exploratory trip to the northern magnetic pole, which Amundsen undertook from 1903 to 1906 on the ship "Gjöa", he was the first to sail through the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. After several winters, he managed to pass through the Bering Strait in 1906. In 1911, the explorer explored the South Pole, where he landed at the Ross Barrier and then, after a two-month sleigh ride across the ice, became the first person to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911.

His competitor, the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott, did not arrive until several weeks later. While returning, Amundsen also discovered the Queen Maud Necklace. The success now gave him funds to carry out long-planned expeditions to the North Pole. From 1918 to 1920, Amundsen sailed through the Northeast Passage along the north coast of Siberia following Adolf Erik von Nordenskiöld. Although he missed the North Pole, he was able to bring a rich collection of scientific research results back to Norway. He then made several attempts to reach the North Pole by air. On May 12, 1926, Amundsen, together with the Italian Umberto Nobile and the American Lincoln Ellsworth, succeeded in flying over the North Pole for the first time.

In June 1928, Amundsen went missing during a rescue operation for an unfortunate U. Nobile expedition. The explorer and adventurer never returned from a flight to Spitsbergen.
- IMDb mini biography by: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth

Is related to director/producer/actor Fred Anderson.

Awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, 29 May 1928 (45 Stat. 2026-2027). The medal was also awarded to Umberto Nobile and Lincoln Ellsworth.