Fridtjof Nansen, 1893 (photo)

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen, (10 October 1861 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the Fatherland League. In 1893, Fridtjof Nansen sailed north to the Arctic with the ship Fram. The ship was specially built for the Arctic Ocean. It was supposed that the ship would freeze in the ice and drift with it to the North Pole. When it became clear that the ship could not reach the pole, Nansen together with Hjalmar Johansen left the ship. They made their way with dog sleds and skis and on April 7 reached 86 degrees 14 minutes north latitude, the closest they came to the North Pole and the most northerly any human had ever reached. On 17 June, during a stop for repairs after the kayaks had been attacked by a walrus, Nansen thought he heard a dog barking as well as human voices. He went to investigate, and a few minutes later saw the figure of a man approaching. It was the British explorer Frederick Jackson, who was leading an expedition to Franz Josef Land and was camped at Cape Flora on nearby Northbrook Island. The two were equally astonished by their encounter; after some awkward hesitation Jackson asked: "You are Nansen, aren't you?", and received the reply "Yes, I am Nansen."