Q 01/05

On what date did Amundsen's party become the first people to reach the South Pole?

A) 14 December 1911

B) 17 January 1912

C) 1 December 1910

D) 14 December 1912

Answer · why

A) 14 December 1911

Scott's British party arrived 34 days later to find the Norwegian tent already there.

Q 02/05

Which ship carried Amundsen's expedition to Antarctica in 1910?

A) Fram

B) Maud

C) Gjøa

D) Belgica

Answer · why

A) Fram

It had been built for Fridtjof Nansen's Arctic drift and later served Otto Sverdrup for four years.

Q 03/05

Where was Amundsen born in 1872?

A) Bergen, Hordaland

B) Borge, Østfold

C) Trondheim, Trøndelag

D) Tromsø, Troms

Answer · why

B) Borge, Østfold

He came from a family of shipowners and captains, and lived near Fredrikstad.

Q 04/05

What career did Amundsen's mother want for him, a promise he kept only until she died?

A) Priest

B) Naval officer

C) Lawyer

D) Doctor

Answer · why

D) Doctor

He quit university for a life at sea as soon as she died, when he was 21.

Q 05/05

Whose narratives of overland Arctic expeditions enthralled the 15-year-old Amundsen?

A) John Franklin

B) Fridtjof Nansen

C) John Ross

D) James Cook

Answer · why

A) John Franklin

He said he read them with a fervid fascination which shaped the whole course of his life.