Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Fridtjof Nansen - 150th Birth Anniversary

Deutsche Post came out with a special postmark to celebrate 150th Birth Anniversary of Fridtjof Nansen (1861 - 1930) - a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.

The ship in the postmark is the 'Fram' - a ship that was used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912. It was designed and built by the Norwegian shipwright Colin Archer for Fridtjof Nansen's 1893 Arctic expedition in which Fram was supposed to freeze into the Arctic ice sheet and float with it over the North Pole.

Fram is said to have sailed farther north (85°57'N) and farther south (78°41'S) than any other wooden ship. Fram is currently preserved at the Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Many thanks to dear Friend, Wolfgang Beyer, Germany for sending me an envelope with this memorable postmark.

Text Source: Wikipedia

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