Today we offer a closer acquaintance with one of the most famous people of the XX century - Thor Heyerdahl. This Norwegian anthropologist has become famous all over the world thanks to his expeditions to exotic places and numerous books devoted to his travels and scientific research. And if most of our compatriots know the answer to the question of who Tour Heyerdahl is, then few are aware of the details of his personal life and professional activity. Therefore, get to know this great man better.
Heyerdahl Tour: photo, childhood
The future world famous scientist and traveler was born on October 6, 1914 in a small Norwegian town called Larvik. Interestingly, in the Heyerdahl family, it was customary to call the sons by the name Tur. However, despite the fact that both for the head of the family - the owner of the brewery, and for the mother - the worker of the anthropological museum, their marriage was the third in a row, and they already raised seven children, it was the youngest son who was called the family name Tur. The father, already a middle-aged man (at the time of the birth of his son, he was 50 years old), had sufficient means and traveled around Europe with great pleasure. On his trips, he certainly took a boy. His mother also loved Tura and not only showered him with caress and attention, but was also engaged in his education. Thanks to her, the boy woke up very early in interest in zoology. Such enthusiasm and encouragement from the parents led to the fact that Heyerdahl Tour created a small zoological museum at home, the most spectacular exhibit of which was a stuffed viper. There were many interesting gizmos brought from distant countries. So it is not surprising that the guests came to the Heyerdahl family not only for a cup of tea, but also for a short excursion.
Youth
After graduating from school in 1933, Heyerdahl Tur entered the University of Oslo at the Faculty of Zoology, which did not surprise anyone close to him. While studying at the university, he devoted much time to his beloved zoology, however, he gradually became interested in ancient cultures and civilizations. It was during this period that he came to the conclusion that modern man completely forgot about centuries-old traditions and commandments, which ultimately led to a series of fratricidal wars. By the way, the Tour remained confident in this until the very last minutes of his life.
Craving for wanderings
At the end of seven semesters, Heyerdahl becomes bored at the university. Indeed, at that time he already possessed truly encyclopedic knowledge, some of which he received from his parents, and some he understood, thanks to an independent study of various issues. He dreams of doing his own research and embarking on a journey to faraway exotic islands. Moreover, his friends and patrons Yalmar Broch and Kristin Bonnevi, whom he met during a trip to Berlin, were ready to help organize an expedition to the Polynesian islands in order to find out how representatives of the fauna inhabiting these places could be there. Interestingly, this trip was for the young scientist not only an exciting adventure, but also a honeymoon. After all, before sailing, Heyerdahl Tour married a student of the Faculty of Economics - the beautiful Liv Coucheron-Thorpe. Liv turned out to be as adventurous as her husband. At the same time, she not only accompanied the Tour on his expedition, but was also a loyal assistant to him, as she had previously studied many books on zoology and Polynesia.
Travel to Fatu Hiva
As a result, in 1937, Heyerdahl Tour with his wife Liv went to the far shores of the Polynesian island of Fatu Khiva. Here they learned to survive in the wild, met with locals and engaged in scientific research. However, a year later the couple had to interrupt their expedition. The fact is that the Tour picked up a rather dangerous disease, and Liv became pregnant. Therefore, in 1938, young researchers returned to Norway. Thus ended the first journey of the legendary Heyerdahl. He spoke about this expedition in his book “In Search of Paradise”, published in 1938. In 1974, Tour published an extended version of this work, which was called Fatu Khiva.
Travel to Canada
A few months after returning from Fatu Khiva, Liv gave birth to a son, who, according to family tradition, was given the name Tour. After another year, the spouses gave birth to a second son - Björn. The head of the family continued his scientific activities, but gradually it began to take more people, not animals. Thus, the zoologist who left for Polynesia returned to his homeland as an anthropologist. His new goal was to find the answer to the question of how the ancient Incas could get from America to Polynesia. Or maybe it was just the opposite? So, Heyerdahl decides to go to Canada, to the places where the Indians used to live. He hoped that ancient legends about sailors could have survived here. However, despite the fact that the Tour traveled all over the west of Canada, he was not able to find the necessary information.
The Second World War
During the Heyerdahl expedition in Canada, World War II began. Being a true patriot, Tour wanted to defend his homeland from the enemy. To do this, he moved to the United States and enlisted in the army. During the war, the Heyerdahl family first lived in the United States, and then moved to the UK.
Heyerdahl Tours: Kon-Tiki Expedition
In 1946, the scientist is carried away by a new idea: he believes that in ancient times, American Indians could swim to the islands in the Pacific Ocean on rafts. Despite the negative reaction from historians, the Tour organizes an expedition called "Kon-Tiki" and proves that he is right. After all, he and his team were able to get on a raft from Peru to the islands of the Taumotu archipelago. It is interesting that many scientists generally refused to believe in the fact of this trip until they saw a documentary filmed during the expedition. Upon returning home, Heyerdahl divorced his wife Liv, who soon married a wealthy American. The tour, however, a few months later marries Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen, who subsequently gave birth to three daughters.
Easter Island Travel
Heyerdahl could never sit in one place for a long time. So, in 1955, he organized an archaeological expedition to Easter Island. It included professional archaeologists from Norway. During the expedition, Tour and his colleagues spent several months on the island exploring important archaeological sites. The focus of their work was on experiments on carving, moving and installing the famous moai statues. In addition, the researchers were engaged in excavations on the hills of Poike and Orongo. According to the results of their work, the expedition members published a number of scientific articles that laid the foundation for the study of Easter Island, which continues to this day. And Thor Heyerdahl, whose books have always been very successful, has written another bestseller called Aku-Aku.
"Ra" and "Ra II"
At the end of the 60s, Thor Heyerdahl became interested in the idea of a sea voyage on a papyrus boat. In 1969, the relentless explorer set sail on a boat designed under the ancient Egyptian drawings called "Ra", sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. However, due to the fact that the craft was made from Ethiopian reeds, it got wet pretty quickly, as a result of which the expedition members had to go back.
The following year, a second boat, called "Ra II", was launched. It was modified taking into account previous errors. Tour Heyerdahl once again achieved success, having sailed from Morocco to Barbados. Thus, he was able to prove to all the world scientific community that the ancient sailors could sail across the ocean under sail, using the Canary Current. The expedition "Ra II" included representatives of different countries, among whom was the famous Soviet traveler Yuri Senkevich.
Tigris
Also known is another Tour Heyerdahl boat called the Tigris. The researcher built this reed from 1977. The expedition route ran from Iraq to the shores of Pakistan, and then to the Red Sea. Thanks to this sea voyage, Thor Heyerdahl proved the existence of trade and migration contacts between Mesopotamia and Indian civilization. At the end of the expedition, the researcher burned his boat in protest against military operations.
Tireless explorer
Tour Heyerdahl has always longed for adventure. He did not change himself at the age of 80. So, in 1997, our compatriot and member of the Ra II expedition, Yuri Senkevich, went to meet with an old friend. As part of his program "Travelers Club", he showed the viewer where Tour Heyerdahl lives. The hero of the story told about his many plans, among which was another trip to Easter Island.
Last years
Tour Heyerdahl, whose biography was very rich in a wide variety of events, remained active and cheerful even at a very advanced age. This also applies to his personal life. So, in 1996, at the age of 82, a famous scientist and researcher divorced his second wife and married with the French actress Jacqueline Beer. Together with his wife, he moved to Tenerife, where he bought a huge mansion, built more than three centuries ago. Here he enjoyed gardening and even assured that he could make a good biologist.
The great Thor Heyerdahl died in 2002 at the age of 87 from a brain tumor. In the last moments of his life, he was surrounded by his third wife and his five children.