The existence of the Earth’s North Pole at high latitudes has attracted the attention of researchers and travelers for many centuries. Anyone who discovered the North Pole would glorify his name no less than Columbus, Magellan, and other great discoverers. Expeditions to high northern latitudes equipped in Russia, Great Britain, USA, Norway, Italy. Many travelers died before reaching the goal. Their names are gratefully recalled by descendants.
Discovery of the North Pole. Background
Russian sailors from Novgorod in the XI – XII centuries reached the coast of the White Sea.
In 1595–1597, V. Barents and his team stayed for the winter in the Arctic on the western coast of Novaya Zemlya, having previously discovered the island of Svalbard.
The British navigator G. Hudson in 1607 reached the eastern outskirts of Greenland, but the expedition was stopped by ice. The team managed to reach Svalbard, but could not advance above 80.23 °.
V. Bering went to the First Kamchatka expedition in 1725-1734 to study the polar latitudes.
Why did the discoverers seek the North Pole?
One after another, new expeditions are being equipped, their goal is the discovery of the North Pole. Many people from different countries travel far to the North. Driving travelers is not only a purely scientific interest. New routes could reduce the distances traveled by merchant and military vessels from Europe to Asia. The question of who discovered the North Pole was not discussed in those years. Researchers and travelers have long been able to penetrate above 80 ° north latitude.
Ideas for Sea Expeditions to the North Pole
In the XVII century there was a theory about the melting of ice in the summer months near the North Geographic Pole. Some researchers have suggested that there may exist a sea that is not covered in ice. Based on this legend, many attempts were made to reach high latitudes in ocean waters on sea vessels. The great Russian scientist M. Lomonosov made calculations confirming this possibility. Empress Catherine the Great ordered to equip the expedition. By her Decree, Admiral V. Chichagov twice in 1765 and 1766 went in search of this free body of water, through which you can reach the North Pole. The admiral could not advance above 80.30 °. The discoverer of the North Pole from the head of the English sea expedition K. Phipps did not work out. He managed to achieve in 1773 only a latitude of 80.48 °. Unsuccessful attempts to overcome the remaining few degrees to the North Pole overshadowed the idea of water travel to high latitudes.
New polar expeditions: by sea and ice
In 1827, the Englishman William Parry decided to go to the North Pole on the ice of the Arctic. He could be one of the first to reach the North Pole. The Parry expedition was funded by the British Admiralty. The polar explorers left England in March 1827 by ship and reached the
island of Svalbard. The head of the expedition and his companions moved to boats equipped with special runners. Moving on ice, the detachment reached 82.45 °. This record was set on July 23, 1827 and has survived for almost 50 years. Among the participants of the expedition was D. Ross, who holds the honor of discovering the Earth’s North Magnetic Pole. Briton D. Nairs, who went north in 1875, advanced even further. On two ships, and then on the sleigh, which people dragged by hand, the detachment managed to get in May 1876 to a latitude of 83.20 °. At that time it was a new record in the polar latitudes, but the expedition was not ranked among those who discovered the North Pole.
In the ice of the Arctic
Failure befell the North American expedition of D. De Long, who sailed on July 8, 1879 on the sailing ship "Jeannette" from San Francisco. The ship passed the
Bering Strait and reached the Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean. Here, the sailboat was frozen into ice and in this state began to drift towards the North Pole. But after 21 months, “Jeannette” sank, only a small part of the team was saved.
De Long's experience helped organize the expedition to the Norwegian polar explorer F. Nansen. He equipped a special ship "Fram", adapted to drift in the ice. The famous traveler decided to take advantage of the current in the Arctic Ocean and become the first to discover the North Pole. The “Fram” passed along the Northern Sea Route, lay in a drift and on March 14, 1895 reached a parallel of 84.4 °. Nansen, skiing and dog sledding, reached 86.14 °, but was stopped by ice hummocks. In 1899, participants in the Italian Arctic squad of the Prince of Savoy, Luigi Amedeo, were able to reach 86.34 ° by dog sledding on ice.
Excitement around the discoverer of the North Pole
For many years there has been a debate about who first discovered the North Pole. A number of travelers claim this role. One of them is the American F. Cook, who claimed that on dog sledding he got with two Eskimo guides to the North Pole on April 21, 1908. The scientific community demanded evidence, but Cook was unable to provide it. A dispute between two Americans is known throughout the world, each of which claims to be the discoverer of the North Pole. One of them is Cook, and the second is engineer Robert Peary. He stated that he had been at latitude 90 ° on April 6, 1909. The companion of the polar explorer was compatriot M. Henson, and he hired four Eskimos as guides. Peary's statement abounded with inaccuracies, and was called into question.
Russian expeditions to the North Pole
Without interfering in the debate about who first conquered the North Pole, Russian researchers continued to systematically study and develop the Arctic. In 1912-1914, the expedition of G. Sedov spent two polar wintering aboard the ship. In the Soviet years, scientists landed with an airplane 30 km from the North Pole. From here on May 21, 1937, the world's first drift began on the ice of the SP-1 research station.
Expedition members:
- Ivan Papanin (leader);
- Peter Shirshov (oceanographer);
- Evgeny Fedorov (meteorologist);
- Ernst Krenkel (radio operator).
The drift lasted nine months, during which the polar explorers made observations. The ice floe turned out to be 2850 km from the original landing site for people on it. Off the coast of Greenland, researchers boarded Soviet icebreakers.
The study of the Arctic continues in the new millennium. Mineral reserves have been found and are being developed on the shelf of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, fishing is in progress. Countries with access to the Arctic have many interests. New expeditions prepared by scientists, industrialists, and military are sent to the North Pole. There are international sports tournaments dedicated to the onset of the polar summer. The followers of Nansen, Cook, Piri, Sedov, Papanin again sent to the north of the planet to a point having a geographical latitude of 90 °, to prove the triumph of willpower and spirit over severe polar ice.