Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a
Swedish geologist, geographer, and
polar explorer.
Early life
Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in
Småland
Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...
in eastern Sweden, in a family that included his maternal uncle, the polar explorer
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, and cousin
Gustaf Nordenskiöld. His father and mother were cousins, but his father's family name was "Nordenskjöld", while his mother's family name was spelled "Nordenskiöld".
He studied at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
Initially fou ...
, obtaining a doctorate in geology in 1894, and later became a lecturer and then associate professor in the university's geology department.
Career
Otto Nordenskjöld led mineralogical expeditions to
Patagonia in the 1890s, and to
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
and the
Klondike area in 1898.
Antarctic Expedition

Nordenskjöld led the 1901–1904
Swedish Antarctic Expedition
The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Background
Otto Nordensk ...
. Their ship ''
Antarctic
The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole.
The Antar ...
'', commanded by the seasoned Antarctic sailor
Carl Anton Larsen, visited
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
and the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
before leaving Nordenskjöld's party at
Snow Hill Island
Snow Hill Island is an almost completely snowcapped island, long and wide, lying off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from James Ross Island to the north-east by Admiralty Sound and from Seymour Island to the north by ...
off the
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica.
...
to overwinter, while the ship returned to the Falklands.
The following spring, early in November 1902, Larsen sailed south to retrieve the party, but the ''Antarctic'' became trapped in ice and so damaged it eventually sank on 12 February 1903, forcing the crew to winter in a hastily constructed shelter on
Paulet Island
Paulet Island is a Circle, circular island about in diameter, lying south-east of Dundee Island, off the north-eastern end of the Antarctic Peninsula. Because of its large penguin colony, it is a popular destination for sightseeing tours.
D ...
. Larsen and Nordenskjöld finally rendezvoused at their fall-back rescue hut at
Hope Bay in November 1903 and were soon picked up by the corvette
ARA ''Uruguay'' (commanded by
Julián Irízar), dispatched after ''Antarctic'' had failed to make its appointed return to Argentina.
Despite its end and the great hardships endured, the expedition was considered a scientific success, having explored much of the eastern coast of
Graham Land
Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...
, including
Cape Longing,
James Ross Island
James Ross Island () is a large island off the southeast side and near the northeastern extremity of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Prince Gustav Channel.
Rising to , it is irregularly shaped and extends in a north–so ...
, the
Joinville Island group
Joinville Island group is a group of antarctic islands, lying off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which Joinville Island group is separated by the Antarctic Sound.
Location
The Joinville Island group lies in Graham La ...
, and the
Palmer Archipelago
Palmer Archipelago, also known as Antarctic Archipelago, Archipiélago Palmer, Antarktiske Arkipel or Palmer Inseln, is a group of islands off the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends from Tower Island in the north to Anvers ...
, recovering also valuable geological samples and samples of marine animals. It earned Nordenskjöld lasting fame at home, but its huge cost left him greatly in debt.
Later life
In 1905, Nordenskjöld was appointed professor of
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
(with commercial geography) and
ethnography
Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
at
University of Gothenburg
The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...
.
Nordenskjöld later explored
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
in 1909 and returned to South America to explore
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
and
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
in the early 1920s (many samples from this expedition are now displayed at the
Natural History Museum in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
). He also studied the effects of winter on
alpine climate, and developed a formula for identifying the boundaries of the Arctic region based on the temperatures in the warmest and coldest months of the year.
Nordenskjöld was killed in a traffic collision at the age of 58 when he was hit by a bus driver in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, where he was also buried.
Legacy
A number of geographical features have been named after Otto Nordenskiöld, including:
*
Nordenskjöld Lake, an alpine lake in Chile's
Torres del Paine National Park
*
Nordenskjöld Coast
The Nordenskjöld Coast (64° 30' S 60° 30' W) is located on the Antarctic Peninsula, more specifically Graham Land, which is the top region of the Peninsula. The Peninsula is a thin, long ice sheet with an Alpine-style mountain chain. The coast ...
, a section of the coast of the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula
*
Nordenskjöld Basin, an undersea basin
*
Nordenskjöld Ice Tongue, a glacial
ice tongue extending over the Ross Sea
*
Nordenskjöld Glacier, a glacier on South Georgia
*
Nordenskjöld Outcrops, rocky outcrops on the Antarctic Peninsula
*
Nordenskjöld Peak, a mountain on South Georgia
Publications
* ''Antarctica: Or, Two years amongst the ice of the South Pole''
* S A Duse (1905), ''Bland pingvinar ock sälar, minnen från Svenska sydpolarexpeditionen 1901-03''.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordenskiold, Otto
1869 births
1928 deaths
Swedish explorers of Antarctica
Explorers of Chile
Road incident deaths in Sweden
Swedish nobility
Academic staff of the University of Gothenburg
Pedestrian road incident deaths
Swedish-speaking Finns
People from Eksjö Municipality