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Umberto Cagni (24 February 1863 in Asti – 22 April 1932 in Genoa) was a polar explorer and an admiral in the
Royal Italian Navy The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...
. He is best known for his leadership in a probe, by dogsled, northward over the surface of the
Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
in 1900. While his party failed in their goal of reaching the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
, on 25 April 1900 Cagni and his men achieved the northernmost point achieved by exploration up to that time, 86° 34′ N.


Life and career

Cagni was born in the fast-growing
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
, which had been proclaimed only two years earlier during the ''
Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
''. His well-placed father, a Piedmontese general, bestowed kinship ties that led to young Cagni being accepted for training by the Italian navy as a future officer. He was commissioned as an ensign in 1881. Cagni advanced in the service in terms of both rank and connections. By 1899, he was a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the ''
Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...
'' and a close associate of Prince
Luigi Amedeo Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, (29 January 1873 – 18 March 1933) was an Italian mountaineer and explorer, briefly Infante of Spain as son of Amadeo I of Spain, member of the royal House of Savoy and cousin of the Italian King Vi ...
. The prince was an Italian duke, nephew of the
king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...
, and experienced
mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
. Organizing a group of 20 Italian and Norwegian men led by himself, the royal duke sailed on 12 June 1899 from Christiania for the recently discovered
Franz Josef Land , native_name = , image_name = Map of Franz Josef Land-en.svg , image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land , image_size = , map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg , map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...
, via Archangel'sk. In far northern Russia, Cagni and Luigi Amedeo obtained the sled dogs that would be a key element of the expedition. On 12 July they sailed north from Archangel'sk aboard their exploration vessel, the '' Stella Polare'', their goal the establishment of a winter base in Franz Josef Land that would give them a jumping-off place to attain the North Pole.


Polar push

Although a base was established at
Rudolf Island Prince Rudolf Land, Crown Prince Rudolf Land, Prince Rudolf Island or Rudolf Island (russian: Остров Рудольфа) is the northernmost island of the Franz Josef Archipelago, Russia and is home to the northernmost point in Russia. Owing t ...
, trouble came during the winter of 1899–1900 when the ''Stella Polare'' was partly crushed by polar ice and the expedition's leader, Luigi Amedeo, was badly injured by
frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in t ...
. The expedition's physician had to amputate two of the royal duke's fingers, and the maimed commander was pronounced unfit to lead the polar push. Luigi Amedeo deputized command over the lead dogsled party to Cagni, who forged northward from Franz Josef Land on 11 March. The dogs were pulling food and other supplies for three months' march. After great difficulties, including the deaths of three men from supporting parties, the four men of the Cagni party began to realize that the North Pole was beyond their reach. Their only remaining option was to go as far north as they could, plant a flag, and return with barely enough food to keep them alive on the trek back to their base camp. As it happened, the flag was planted on 25 April at 86°34' N., which was 35 km (20 nautical miles) north of the 86°14' N. mark achieved by Nansen and
Johansen Johansen is a Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning ''"son of Johan"''. It is most common in Denmark and Norway. The Swedish variant is Johansson, while the most common spelling in the US is Johanson. There are still other spellings. Jo ...
in 1895. This was a new "Farthest North". After this achievement Cagni and his three companions faced a race for life. Throwing away almost all of their remaining impedimenta and crowding into a single tent, the foursome regained Franz Josef Land on 23 June, twelve days after their projected survival deadline. The explorers returned to Italy in triumph, and Cagni was lionized by leading figures of the day, such as Gabriele D'Annunzio.


Later life

Following this achievement, Cagni returned to Italian naval service. He led naval relief efforts in the
1908 Messina earthquake The 1908 Messina earthquake (also known as the 1908 Messina and Reggio earthquake) occurred on 28 December in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The epice ...
, participated in the colonial conquest of Libya in 1911–1912, served in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, retired in 1923 as an admiral, and was named to the
Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral s ...
. He lived for nine years in retirement until his death. He is buried in his native
Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...
, where his memory is celebrated to this day.


Legacy

In 2005, a 3,500-meter-tall
seamount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise a ...
on the floor of the Arctic Ocean was named "Umberto Cagni Seamount" in recognition of Cagni's bravery and leadership in ice exploration.SCUFN Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (of UNESCO)
/ref>


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cagni, Umberto 1863 births 1932 deaths Explorers of the Arctic Italian admirals Italian polar explorers Italian military personnel of World War I People from Asti Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War