Johan Kjeldsen

Johan Kiil Kjeldsen (1840 – 1909) was a Norwegian skipper. He took part in many Arctic expeditions and is credited with the discovery of Kvitøya.

Early life

Kjeldsen was born in the village of Bakkejord on Kvaløya. He went on his first Arctic voyage in 1856.

Master of ''Isbjørnen''

In 1871, he served as captain of the sloop ''Isbjørn'' for Karl Weyprecht and Julius Payer on an expedition to probe the area between Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya for navigability. They first attempted to reach Gillis Land from the east coast of Svalbard. Gillis Land had been sighted by Dutchman Cornelis Giles in 1707, but had proven elusive since. Many supposed that it was a fairly large landmass. Kjeldsen and the Norwegian crew were opposed to this route, as they knew from experience that the ice conditions in that area were typically bad. This view was proven correct when the ship was unable to advance and damaged by ice. Having no success here, ''Isbjørn'' sailed east and managed to push far into the Barents Sea. Weyprecht was not impressed by Kjeldsen and the Norwegian crew, he thought they were not sufficiently committed.

Nevertheless, due to the favourable ice conditions encountered north of Novaya Zemlya, Weyprecht and Payer were able to launch the Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition the following year, which attempted a crossing of the North-East Passage in the steam ship ''Tegetthoff''. In preparation for that expedition, Kjeldsen and ''Isbjørn'' were employed by expedition sponsor Count Wilczek to lay a cache at Cape Nassau on Novaya Zemlya, in case ''Tegetthoff'' should be forced to return this way. On their way to Cape Nassau, ''Isbjørn'' met with ''Tegetthoff'' as had been hoped. Due to heavy sea ice, the depot was laid on the northern of the instead. Members from both ships helped place coal for refueling, 1120 kg of bread, and 560 kg of instant pea soup in a crevice sealed with rocks. In 1874, the ''Tegetthoff'' expedition members did end up having to retreat to Novaya Zemlya after their ship was crushed in the ice, but after accidentally rowing past the depot, they decided to continue and rely on the provisions they still had.

Further seafaring and discovery of Kvitøya

After that, Kjeldsen sailed for some years as a sealing master. In 1876, he solved the mystery of Gillis Land, when he discovered Kvitøya at . In 1881, he was one of the ice masters on the steamer ''Pallas'', the first commercial tourist cruise to Spitsbergen. In 1882, he worked as ice master for the Austro-Hungarian expedition to Jan Mayen as part of the first International Polar Year. He was ice master for Nils Gustaf Ekholm's expedition to Spitsbergen in 1883. Ten years later, he had the same role on a Russian expedition to the mouth of the Yenisey under the command of . In 1896 and 1897, he was captain on Henry Pearson's expeditions to the Russian Arctic.

He was living in Tromsø with his wife, Anna Kjeldsen from Trondheim, and their foster daughter Anna Knutzen, also born in Trondheim.

Master of ''Frithjof''

In 1898, Kjeldsen dropped off Walter Wellman and his expedition at Franz Josef Land as master of the barque ''Frithjof''.

The following year, he brought an expedition led by to Greenland. During the voyage, a fire broke out in the engine room and Kjeldsen was nearly asphyxiated as he came into the room.

In 1901, ''Frithjof'' under the command of Kjeldsen acted as a supply ship for the Baldwin-Ziegler Polar Expedition. ''Frithjof'' was to meet the main expedition ship ''America'' in Franz Josef Land, but their meeting was delayed due to a misunderstanding. A row broke out between Kjeldsen and expedition leader as to who was to blame. After his speedy return, Kjeldsen led the relief expedition for , a fellow Norwegian captain who had not returned from a trip to Svalbard in the smack ''Petrell''. The rescue mission was funded by the Norwegian government. Kjeldsen sailed from Tromsø aboard ''Frithjof'' in November. In heavy storms, water entered the engine room through an aperture at the boiler, where bolts had sprung loose. The pumps stopped and had to be repaired. Kjeldsen decided to continue trying despite the harsh weather. Arriving in Svalbard, they were forced to wrap the anchor winch in paraffin soaked cloth and set it on fire because it was frozen stiff. They found Zachariassen and his two companions, who had been shipwrecked at Advent Bay. Having rescued the freezing men, Kjeldsen sailed back to Norway. For his bravery, Kjeldsen later received the Medal for Heroic Deeds.

In 1902, Kjeldsen attempted to sail ''Frithjof'' to Franz Josef Land to meet ''America'' again. This failed on account of the sea ice. ''America'' returned to Norway on her own however. Baldwin was sacked by expedition sponsor William Ziegler. But another attempt would be made the following year with Anthony Fiala in charge. For the Ziegler-Fiala expedition, ''America'' was repaired first in Tromsø, then in Trondheim. When Kjeldsen inspected the ship and saw very little progress and a constantly drunk engineer, he expressed being weary of working for the American expedition.

In 1903, Kjeldsen, in command of the ship ''Laura'', was tasked with inspecting Baldwin's supply depots in Greenland that Fiala hoped to use on a return trip from the North Pole. The following year, Kjeldsen again attempted to relieve the Americans in Franz Josef Land with ''Frithjof'', but could not reach it.

Later expeditions

As ''Frithjof'' was damaged in the process, a new attempt was started with the ''Terra Nova'' the following year. This time Kjeldsen reached Franz Josef Land and rescued the expedition that had been shipwrecked.

In 1906, Kjeldsen was ice master on the ''Isle de France'', the following year on ''Princess Alice'' for Albert I, Prince of Monaco. In 1908 he was ice master on . He died in 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kjeldsen, Johan
1840 births
1909 deaths
Norwegian sailors
Explorers of the Arctic