Fridtjof Nansen Trivia Questions

Nansen attempted to reach the North Pole in 1895 but turned back at 86°14'N. The first verified surface arrival was by Robert Peary in 1909 (disputed) or by air in 1926.

Nansen never held a diplomatic post in the US. He was Norway's ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1906-1908, not the United States.

Nansen designed the Fram to be lifted by ice pressure rather than crushed. It drifted frozen in the Arctic Ocean from 1893 to 1896.

In 1922, Nansen was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for organizing the repatriation of prisoners of war and creating the 'Nansen passport' for stateless refugees.

Nansen used a reindeer-skin sleeping bag, but the modern sleeping bag was developed earlier by others. He did popularize the use of layered fur bags in polar travel.

In his youth, Nansen won the Norwegian national cross-country skiing championship 12 times and set a world record for speed skating.

No evidence exists that Nansen boxed. He was a scientist and athlete, but his combat sports were limited to fencing and gymnastics as part of his physical training.

During his Fram expedition, Nansen took depth soundings showing the Arctic Ocean was over 3,000 meters deep, overturning the prevailing theory of a shallow sea.