Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen on Stamps

Liu, C.

Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

Abstract: Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (10 October 1861-13 May 1930) was one of the most famous Norwegian polar explorer and geographer in the world. The International Geographical Union (IGU) issued Nansen Medal in 1978 for the 90 anniversary of remembering Nansen’s innovatively crossing of Greenland in 1888. And even more legendary, he led his team successful reached the most northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–1896. He first confirmed that the Arctic area was covered by the ocean. Not only, he was a diplomat and humanitarian, he was the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1922. There are more than 20 countries, regions and organizations issued postage stamps on Nansen. The Lin Chao Geomuseum archived more than a hundred stamps issued since 1918 from Norway, Germany, Belgium, IGU, USSR, Greenland, Australia, Romania, Monaco, Cook Islands, Armenia, Korea, United Kingdom, Sao Tome and Principe, Chad, USA, Mali, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Croatia, Mozambique, Guinea, as well as China. All of these stamps recorded Nansen’s historical contributions to science and the society. The stamps on Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen are all archived in the Lin Chao Geomuseum, and the digital stamps are all collected in the dataset on Post Stamp Collection for Remembering Norwegian Polar Experts: Nansen, Sverdrup and Amundsen. The data is archived in .jpg data format with the compressed data size of 98.71 MB.

Keywords: Nansen；stamps；Norwegian polar explorer；Greenland；Nobel Peace Prize

1 Introduction

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (10 October 1861-13 May 1930) was one of the most famous Norwegian polar explorer and geographer, who got respected and beloved by people all over the world. He was born on 10 October 1861 in a lawyer family near Christiania, Norway (Oslo since 1925). He got the world ski championships when he was 18 years old and kept this record for 12 years. He got his Ph.D. in Christiania and made his first successful crossing of Greenland in 1888. More legendary, he led his team successful reached the most northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–1896. He first confirmed that the Arctic area was covered by the ocean. He served as Minister to the United Kingdom of Norway in 1906, High Commissioner for Refugees of the League of Nations and Director of the Office of International Refugees. During the World War, he saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with Nansen Passports (endorsed by more than 50 countries), and Nansen won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922^[1].

Norway issued the postcards for remembering Nansen’s crossing of Greenland in 1918, which were the very beginning of philatelic products on Nansen in the world. After then, more than 20 countries issued the post stamps during the 100 year to remember him. The Lin Chao Geomuseum^[2] collected and archived these stamps. These stamps were issued by Norway (1918), Switzerland (1926), Germany (1953), Belgium (1958), USSR (1961), IGU (1978), Greenland (1978), Australia (1979), Romania (1986), Monaco (1988), Cook Islands (1988), Armenia (1996), North Korea (2000), United Kingdom (2001), Sao Tome and Principe (2011), Chad (2011), USA (2010), Bosnia and Croatia (2011), Bulgaria (2011), Mali (2011), Mozambique (2011), Guinea (2011), and China (2011)^[3].

Table 1  Statistics of philatelic products on Nansen archived in the Lin Chao Geomuseum

Note：All of above philatelic products are archived in Lin Chao Geomuseum donated by Liu Chuang and Liu Yang.

All of these original stamps have been archived in Lin Chao Geomuseum, the digital images of each of them are collected in the dataset of Post Stamp Collection for Remembering Norwegian Polar Experts: Nansen, Sverdrup and Amundsen. This dataset collected the digital images of stamps on Norwegian polar experts, including Nansen, Sverdrup and Amundsen, which is consisted of 341 stamps from more than 20 countries issued during the last a hundred of years^[4]. Table 2 lists the metadata items of the Post Stamp Collection for Remembering Norwegian Polar Experts: Nansen, Sverdrup and Amundsen.

Table 2 Metadata summary of the post stamp collection for remembering Norwegian polar experts: Nansen, Sverdrup and Amundsen

2 Norwegian Post Office Issued the Stamps in Memorial to Nansen

2.1 Norway Issued the First Postcards on Nansen’s Arctic Exploration in 1918

Nansen’s first famous geographical expedition was crossing the Greenland from 1888-1889^[6]. For remembering Nansen’s crossing of Greenland from June 1888 to April 1889, which is the first event in crossing of Greenland in the world and his study on Eskimo people, Norway issued the postcard in 1988 for the 100 anniversary of this special event (Figure 1).

Nansen’s another famous geographical expedition is the arctic explore from 1993-1896 ^[7]. His design for the arctic explores both the routs and ship was tremendously well and interesting. The ship, named FRAM, shape designed to let the ship “float” on top of the ice and finally supported his ambitious to north. The FRAM was built on 1893 and retired in 1912 after Amundsen completed his Antarctic Expedition^[8]. Norwegian Post Office issued the stamp (Figure 2) and the first day cover (Figure 3) for remembering FRAM in 1972.

The FRAM reached the west of New Siberian (78º50′N, 133º37′E) on 22 September 1893, and then the ship was frozen with ice. In this case, the FRAM was floated moving with ice. After the floating for a year, the FRAM reached to 84ºN, 105°55′E on 14 March 1895. In order to get in the North Polar, the expedition team was divided into two groups: one was Nansen and Johnsen by pulling a dogsled to north, and other one continued by FRAM. Nansen’s group reached to 86º13′36″N，95ºE, then they lose the contact with the FRAM. Nansen decided to go to Franz Josef Land and they reach the island in August 1895. After the winter of 1895, Nansen continued to south in May 1896, until meeting England explore F. Zhekexun in June 1896 in southern of the island, then Nansen came back to Norway by F. Zhekexun’ ship. Nansen finally go home on 14 August 1896, after his arctic expedition for three years plus three months. It is incredible that the FRAM come back to Norway just a week after Nansen! In fact, the FRAM was floated to 85º57′N, and then moved near the Spitsbergen Islands and go back to Tromso (Figure 5). Nansen’s expedition to the Arctic shocked the world^[9].

     Fram’s route eastward from Vardø along the Siberian coast, turning north at the New Siberian Islands to enter the pack ice, July–September 1893

     Fram’s drift in the ice from the New Siberian Islands north and west to Spitsbergen, September 1893–August 1896

     Nansen and Johansen’s march to Farthest North, 86°13.6′N, and subsequent retreat to Cape Flora in Franz Josef Land, March 1895–June 1896

     Nansen and Johansen’s return to Vardø from Cape Flora, August 1896

     Fram’s voyage from Spitsbergen to Tromsø, August 1896

Figure 5  Routes taken during the 1893–96 FRAM expedition^[10]

Now, the most earliest philatelic products on Nansen founded are postcards issued by Norway in 1918 (Figure 6-9). The two postcards was carried by FRAM to north, and mailed from the most north post office of Norway. Both of them were signed by famous Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen^[11].

The Bank of Norway issued a $10 bill in 1978 in honor of Nansen (Figure 10-a), the other side以of the bill was designed with Nansen image and the FRAM (Figure 10-b). By which, Nansen was a hero and leader for polar expedition in Norwegian people.

2.2 Norwegian Post Office Issued Stamps in 1935 for Remembering of Nansen

Besides the polar expedition and scientific research, Nansen was involved social services actively. In 1905, he actively participated in the campaign for Norwegian independence as one of the leaders and organizers. In 1917, he, as the leader of the Norwegian Delegation, visited USA, which made a successful cooperation between the two countries. Dr. Nansen was appointed the High Commissioner by the International Red Cross in 1921, he provide drought disaster relief. He established the Nansen relief center. During the World War, he saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with Nansen Passports (endorsed by more than 50 countries). Nansen was awarded the Knighthood by the University of Victoria, UK in 1906, and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

Nansen passed away in Oslo on May 13, 1930, aged 69. In honor of Dr. Nansen's outstanding contribution to the peace of the world, the Nansen International Office for Refugees was established in 1931 in Geneva (renamed as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, after the United Nations established).

Norwegian Post Office issued a set of 4 stamps on Nansen in 1935, annotated as Nansen International Office for Refugees (Figure 11-14), as well as postcard. The picture of the postcard was a photo made by G. Hagens Forlog in 1825 at Nordkap, the most northern corner of Europe at 70°10′20″ and at 307 m above sea level (Figure15).

Norway issued the stamp (Figure 16) and the first day cover (Figure17) in 1982 for the 60th anniversary of Nansen’s Nobel Peace Prize.

2.3 Norwegian Post Office Issued Stamps in 1940 for the Anniversary of Birth of Nansen

2.3.1 Norwegian Stamps for the 80th Anniversary of the Birth of Nansen

Norwegian Post Office issued a set of 4 stamps on 21 October 1940 for the 80^th anniversary of the birth of Nansen (Figure 18-21). The image design is similar with those issued in 1935 instead of the annotation. The first day cover (Figure 22) was included.

2.3.2 Norwegian Stamps for the 100^th, 140^th and 150^th Anniversaries of the Birth of Nansen

Norwegian Post Office issued a set of 2 stamps on 10 October 1961 for the 100^th anniversary

of the birth of Nansen (Figure 23-24). Three first day covers with different designs (Figure 25-27), including crossing of Greenland and Arctic expedition. Following, one stamp (Figure 29), and first day cover (Figure 30), postcard (Figure 31) were issued on 15 April 2011 for the 150^th anniversary of birth of Nansen.

3 Stamps Collection from All of the World

3.1 Stamps Collection from All of the World for Nansen’s Crossing of Greenland

Belgium issued cover in 1958 for the 70th anniversary of Nansen’s crossing of Greenland (Figure 32). In 1978, the International Geographer Union (IGU) established the Great Explorers Medals, including Nansen Expedition Medal (Figure 33-34), as well as the commemorated cover with the signature from Professor Mchael J. Wise, the IGU President (Figure 35) and the post office seal of Godthab Greenland (Figure 36) in remembering Nansen’s contribution in the research of Eskimo people in 1888-1889. Monaco issued the stamp in 1988 for the 100th anniversary of Nansen’s crossing of Greenland (Figure 37); Bank of Cook Islands issued the coin on Nansen in 1988 for the 100th anniversary of Nansen’s crossing of Greenland (Figure 38).

3.2 Stamps Collection from All of the World for Nansen’s Arctic Expedition

Nansen’s Arctic Expedition started on 24 June 1893 from Christiania by FRAM. There were 13 members in his team. They are: Fridtjof Nansen，Otto Sverdrup，Sigurd Scott Hansen，Henrik Greve Blessing，Theodor C. Jacobsen，Anton Amundsen，Adolf Juell，Lars Pettersen，F. Hjalmar Johansen，Peder L. Henriksen，Bernhard Nordahl，Ivar O. Mogstad，Bernt Berntsen（Figure 39–42）.

Armenia Bank issued coin in 2006 for the 4th Polar Year in honor of Nansen, including the FRAM (Figure 43, 44). US Bank issued a bill in 2010 remembering Nansen’s Arctic expedition, also the Nansen expedition and FRAM images were included (Figure 45, 46).

3.3 Stamps Collection from all of the World for FRAM

Among the polar expedition ships, the FRAM is the most famous one. FRAM successful help Nansen to finish his arctic expedition (the most north was 85°57′N) from 1893-1896, help Otto Sverdrup to Sverdrup Islands, and Ronald Amundsen’s Antarctic Expedition from 1910-1912 (the most south was 78°41′S). The ship is currently preserved at the FRAM Museum in Oslo, Norway. Chad in 2010 (Figure 47), Australia in 1979 (Figure 49-50), North Korea in 2000 (Figure 51), and Romania in 2003 and 2014 issued stamps, postcards and covers on FRAM.

3.4 Stamps Collection from all of the World for Remembering Nansen’s Nobel Peace Prize

After the 1st world war, Nansen had repatriated more than 420,000 German and

Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union within only half of a year. The Nansen passport allowed stateless people to travel between countries. In 1923, Nansen used his Nobel Peace Prize money to help two farms on the Volga River. German issued stamp in 1953 for the 30th anniversary of Nansen’s Nobel Peace Prize (Figure 56), postcard in 1961 for the 100th anniversary (Figure 57) and in 1986 for the 125th anniversary of birth of

Nansen (Figure 58). URRS issued stamp in 1961 for the 100^th anniversary of birth of Nansen (Figure 59).

Besides, British Virgin Islands (Figure 60), Romania Post (Figure 61-66), Armenia Post (Figure 67-74), Bosnia and Croatia (Figure 75, 76), Bulgaria Post (Figure 77, 78), Mali Post (Figure 79), Mozambique Post (Figure 80, 81), Guinea Post (Figure 82, 83) and LIN Chao Geomuseum, China (Figure 84) issued the stamps, covers to remembering Nansen and his great contribution to both science and society of the world. 

4 More Ways to Honor Nansen

After Nansen, Norwegian and several international organizations used Nansen's name to honor him, including:

l  Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen Mount^[10]: The Norwegian polar Explorer Roald Amundsen^[11] on his first journey to the South Pole in 1911, discovered a high mountain at 852°21′S, 167°33′W and 4,070 m asl.; he named the mountain as Fridtjof Nansen Mount.

l  Nansen Basin^[12]: The Arctic Basin was named as Nansen Basin, its average depth is 4,000-5,000m, the most depth is 5,449 m.

l  Nansen-Gakkel Ridge^[13]: (Gakkel Ridge, Nansen Cordillera and Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge), Soviet polar explorer Yakov Yakovlevich Gakkel found the arctic mid-ocean ridge in 1966, he named the ridge as Nansen-Gakkel Ridge.

l  Nansen Island^[14]: Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897–1899) found the island lying in the Wilhelmina Bay off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula, and named it as Fridtjof Nansen Island.

l  No.853 Minor Planet^[15]: Nansenia: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) name the No.853 minor planet as Nansenia in 1964.

l  Nansen Martian meteorite: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved to name the Martian meteorite at 49.92°S, 219.58° (0°-360°), 74.63 km in diameter as Nansen Martian Meteorite in 1967.

l  Nansen Lunar Crater: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved to name the lunar cratre at 81.15°N, 95.67°E as Nansen Lunar Crater in 1984, its diagram is 111 km. 

l  The Nansen Refugee Award^[16] : It was established in 1954 to award an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced or stateless people annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

l  Fridtjof Nansen Institute，FNI^[17]: The Fridtjof Nansen Institute was established in 1958 at at Polhodda, Oslo, Norway, the hometown of Nansen.

l  Nansen Ski Club^[18]: The ski club of Berlin, New Hampshire was established in 1871, it was changed its name as Nansen Ski Club in 1920.

l  Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates^[19]: The Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates are a class of five frigates (2004-2011) that are the main surface combatant units of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The ships and the lead ship (F310) of the class bearing the name of Fridtjof Nansen.

l  Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre，NZC^[20]: The Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre，NZC was established on 4 November 2003 in China and Norway.

l  Nansen Hall^[21]: The Lin Chao Geomuseum established the Nansen Hall in 2011.

l  Nansen International Office for Refugees^[22]: The Nansen International Office for Refugees was an organization established in 1930 by the League of Nations and named after Nansen.

5 Summary

Dr. Nansen loved science, had the courage to explore unknown, his enthusiasm for the Arctic exploration and the society services made him being remembered and admired by many nations of the world. This kind of remembrance and admiration is embodied in the multicultural and colorful art printed in the world's stamps and even more engraved in the hearts of people around the world. Nansen is not only honor of Norwegian people, but all of the world! “He is a well-known knowledgeable person” ^[22] (Lin Chao, October 1961, Beijing, China), “He is a great citizenship of the world!” (Ban Ki-moon, 10 October 2011, Oslo)^[23].

References

[1]      Fridtjof Nansen. National Museum of Norway. http://www.nansenamundsen.no/en/nansen/.

[2]      Lin Chao Geomuseum. http://www.geomuseum.cn.

[3]      Peters, J. E. Arlington National Cemetery, Shrine to American’s Heroes [M]. 25th Edition. Maryland: Woodbine House, 2008.

[4]      Liu, C. Post stamp collection for remembering Norwegian polar experts: Nansen, Sverdrup and Amundsen [DB/OL]. Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository, 2014. DOI: 10.3974/geodb.

2014.02.16.V1.

[5]      GCdataPR Editorial Office. GCdataPR data sharing policy [OL]. DOI: 10.3974/dp.policy.2014.05 (Updated 2017).

[6]      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen.

[7]      http://www.nansenamundsen.no/en/galleries/nansen/greenland-expedition/.

[8]      National Museum of Norway. The FRAM Expedition, http://www.nansenamundsen.no/en/galleries/nansen/ FRAM-expedition/.

[9]      Carl Emil Vogt, Fridtjof Nansen. The Man and the World, Cappelen Damm, 2011.

[10]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Fridtjof_Nansen.

[11]   Roald Amundsen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen.

[12]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen_Basin.

[13]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gakkel_Ridge.

[14]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen_Island.

[15]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/853_Nansenia.

[16]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen_Refugee_Award.

[17]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen_Institute.

[18]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen_Ski_Club.

[19]   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen-class_frigate.

[20]   Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre. http://nzc.iap.ac.cn/.

[21]   Liu, C. Stamp collection for remembering Dr. Nansen. http://www.geomuseum. n/geographerhall/Nansen/

htm/Nansen1.html.

[22]   Lin, C. Remembering of the 100th Anniversary of Birth of Norwegian scientist Nansen [J]. Journal of Geography, 1961, 6: 241-243.

[23]   Ban, K. M. Speech at the Meeting of the 150^th Anniversary of Birth of Nansen [R]. Oslo, Norway, 10 October 2011.